The year has finally come to an end! Overall, 2009 has been... epic, for the lack of a more fantabulous word. I did so much traveling, made so many new friends.. Altogether, it has been great and I'm really thankful for it! To commemorate the year, I decided to write an entry on my top 20 moments of the year. Oh, the memories...

In no particular order...
1. Riding an elephant (Thailand)
I got hoisted by one, too ;D
2. Touching Van Fan's hand (Toronto)
Okay, I don't have a pic of me touching his hand, but you've gotta trust me on this one :D
3. Playing with a baby tiger (Thailand)
I wish I got to play with a mommy tiger, but a baby one is good enough hehe.
4. Swimming with dolphins (Taiwan)
Don't be fooled by a dolphin's cute demeanor.. They can actually be pretty fierce!
5. Parasailing/jet skiing (the Philippines)
Parasailing was really relaxing, and jet skiing was amazingly fun.
6. Red light district (Thailand)
Interesting, but never ever again...
7. 3am dimsum after a night of clubbing (Hong Kong)
8. 3am shopping in Dongdaemun (Korea)
9. Meeting Eason Chan (Hong Kong)
10. Opportunity to be in a film directed by my friend (Toronto)
It's actually been postponed until the summer, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.
11. Hins Cheung x Khalil Fong concert (Hong Kong)
12. Lady Gaga concert (Toronto)
13. Meeting new friends in Korean class (Toronto)
14. Miss Canada Petite boat cruise (Toronto)
15. Winning $1000 worth of Annabelle cosmetics!
16. Helping out with the JYP Toronto auditions
I was asked to help out with promoting the auditions as well as a bit of scouting :) Fun times.
17. Stealing the TTC map right off the subway...
Edward's been talking about doing this for so long, until one day we finally plucked up the courage and just... took it. It's a great addition to my room now :)
18.  Taking care of & playing with Ed's cat, muimui
Currently taking care of her while Ed is in Hong Kong. She's a bundle of cuteness!
19. Interhall mass dance (Hong Kong)
It was a lot of hard work (7 hours practices, omg...), but it was worth it! First time dancing with Hongers, haha. Made a lot of new friends!
20. Visiting my best friends (Taiwan)
Visited Taiwan twice this year and was able to meet up with two of my best friends.
I am sooo looking forward to 2010! Bring it :)

....and not a very hot one at that. Haha. I spoke with several friends about this, and they all agree. Despite my girly appearance, I seriously think that I'm a man stuck in a woman's body. Here's why.

To those who requested makeup: My giveaway is over! I've already contacted everyone as of 11/04, so if you haven't heard back then I'm sorry D: I said that I'd only be giving freebies to one international blog reader/friend, but I'm actually sending 4 overseas packages... I'm so broke now. Hope you girls like your goodies though!

Anyhow, my life kinda sucks at the moment, for the following reasons:

1. I am still full-time unemployed.
2. I lost my best friend.
3. I spend too much money.
4. Methinks I'm a crappy employee.
5. My grades suck.
6. I've put on weight.

I like to call it the circle of life [of Joan], or circle of Joan for short. I've been trying hard (but obviously, not hard enough) to find a job, but to no avail. Since I'm so fugtastically stressed out and uberly overwhelmed, I take it out on my best friend. Best friend can't handle it so he ditches me. No best friend? It's okay, shopping is always a nice alternative. Of course, until I realize my financial situation is analogous to that of a homeless person.

I try to make up for the money spent by taking on more shifts. More shifts leads to less time for other things; ultimately, less sleep for me. Less sleep is synonymous with poor performance in both work and school. I try to make myself feel better by filling my seemingly unsatiable appetite, but with that comes an extra inch or two to my waist. How my eating habits relates to my inability to find a full-time job, I don't know... I guess it isn't a circle after all, maybe just a linear path. Whatever. But the point is, my life sucks, end of story.

Okay well, with the negativity out of the way, here are some things I should be excited about!

1. Vancouver Olympics!
I booked my flight last week, and I'll be there from Feb 17-21, 2010. The HBC contest isn't over yet, but I've made up my mind. I want to go so I'm gonna go. I'm gonna be getting event tickets on Saturday - hopefully I get to see figure skating and short track! Despite the fact that I've booked already, please continue voting for me! I'm a poor student so it would be ubertastic if it was a free trip :D

2. Being a JYP scout!
A friend of mine asked me to do some PR work for JYP! Next week, I'm gonna be scouting with JYP reps during their audition period in Toronto. Definitely a fun opportunity to have a firsthand account of how the Korean entertainment industry works :)

3. Lady Gaga concert!
November 28th at the Air Canada Centre, so excited! I love concerts. Hopefully this will lift my mood :D

4. Try out some acting!
Oscar, who's a film production major, is looking to make his first feature length film to build his portfolio and to enter into film festivals. I'll be acting in it, oh so exciting :D We'll be filming during the Christmas break, so I probably won't be able to do my New York trip then... But it'll definitely be worth it.

5. A top secret art project
Since it's top secret, I've sworn on my female body parts that I wouldn't divulge it to anyone just yet. Friends and family do not count. So you'll have to wait! ;D

 Anyway, here are some random pics taken from my mobile. My hair looks long in the photos, but I want it grow even longer. Like Rapunzel :D Not really but..