update - sorry for the long delay

It's been a while. I've been so busy lately! That is a good excuse, isn't it? Busy as in I had worked TWELVE days in a row a couple of weeks back. That was brutal. Beyond brutal. I don't know how I functioned. And we're not talking about these short 8-hour shifts. Most of the shifts were the usual 12-hour open-to-close shifts. Anyway, I made it through without killing anyone. Actually, the true test of my survival skills & ability to keep my sanity intact is occuring right now for the next 2 months as I agreed to help out one particular store a few days a week. This store is ... challenging to say the least. Please forgive me if I am complaining more than usual for the next 2 months :)

Went to visit Kartik for a few days. I have pics but I have not uploaded them yet. Atlanta was a LOT colder than expected. And naturally, the time we decided to go is the ONE time it snowed. Grrr. Shopping was all right. I didn't buy much. Seeing Kartik in Atlanta actually made me miss being in school. Crazy, I know. I didn't really like pharmacy school itself much but I miss going to classes, skipping classes, napping in classes. Ahh, the many perks of being a student. Martin Luther King Jr. Museum was amazing. World of Coke not so...but it was interesting trying to drive to it :) Hmmm...what else. This is the bad thing about not blogging regularly; I've resorted to just stating stuff I did rather than reflect on the events in my life. They've happened so long ago that I forget my initial impressions. I know, it wasn't THAT long ago but it feels a long time.

I just watched a documentary called The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream. Fascinating stuff. Basically, the suburban lifestyle has no future because of the end of cheap oil. There is no source of energy available right now that will support the type of lifestyle that we've built based on the availability of cheap oil. I know the documentary was trying to scare its viewers, but there is lots of truth to what they're saying. It's crazy to see that the Blackout of 2003 did not teach anyone anything about conserving energy. We still drive 1 minute to the store, wait 5 minutes in line at the drive-thru, and endure hour-long commutes to work. I know I am guilty of all of these but I can't help it. It's normal to do and because there isn't a better public transport infrastucture, I continue to drive everywhere. Trust me, I would LOVE to walk everywhere. I am a big fan of walking. But of course, living in the city costs a lot of money. Hence this suburban sprawl gone crazy. What's interesting is this new type of urban development where communities are planned so that you live, work, and play in the same neighbourhood. I know Markham is planning that type of community in the Warden-Kennedy / Highway 7 - ETR area. But of course that will take 30 years to develop. I haven't done any research but I'm sure there are lot of other communities in North America that are starting to build or plan these development projects. I think it's an admirable plan. One of the key elements is creating a sense of neighbourhood. Living in Markham, especially in my area, I do not get that sense right now. Because everyone drives everywhere, I don't get to see my neighbours. I know them by their cars. I know my neighbours on my left own 2 Corollas, a minivan, and 2 motorcycles...but I wouldn't recognize them if I saw them at the mall. Anyway, after watching the documentary, my desire to move downtown has increased significantly. Now to save up...