...2010...

I thought being about 4 hours away from singing in the new year would be a good time to share my feelings about the night ahead and all the partying that comes with it. Frankly, I hate them! I’ve done my share of nye partying and even though I think they’re all fun and fabulous once in a while or when you’re in your early 20s as I got older just the hassle of sorting through party invitations and finding the right one with the hopes of it being a great one just tired me.

Not only the parties are super expensive, just getting yourself set up with a nice outfit and shoes and hair and makeup can take lots of cash. The idea of paying about $100 to get into a good party and another $200 to $400 for an outfit to be seen in just doesn’t make me want to get out. Oh yeah, almost forgot about the cab ride and the drinks at the party! Sigh….

What I do like doing for nye is having friends over and sharing few drinks, maybe eat dinner and ring in the new year with good company and a casual setting that everyone can enjoy. Another one of my favorite things to do is to stay home and watch TV and block all the nye stuff out and that’s what I’m planning to do today. So friends and family, I love you all but I ain’t answering my phone till tomorrow.

I’m planning to watch a few movies, have a beer and sleep early and sleep in tomorrow….

With that said,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I don’t know what it is about a nice pair of black boots that just makes my mouth water. Doesn’t matter if its leather or suede I love them all. This year I’m in search for a knee length pair of boots to replace my beloved, suede ones. I wear those babies everyday of the winter and I finally wore out the heels and had to replace them.

♣♣

My criteria:

- Knee length: I don’t like super long ones since they mess with my body proportions, and I already have a pair of fabulous ankle boots that can carry me over at least for another yr.

- Must be leather or suede: I don’t do fake stuff. I find it wont last as long. The better the fabric and maintenance the longer you can enjoy your boots!

- Details: I don’t mind shoes/boots with some detail or buckle, strap on them. But it has to be delicate looking, nothing worse than a chunky pair of boots, unless you are in the army or work in construction sights.

- Price: this is a bit tricky, I love a good brand name but the price tag sometimes hurts my already empty pockets. So lets say up to $300.

- Got to be flat or very tiny little heel so I walk with them for long periods of time and be comfortable at work.

- Full zipper: I have major problems with boots that don’t have a full zipper. I current boots don’t have them but they were the only pair of boots I ever tried that I could manage and I can fit my jeans in them.

- Versatile: I have to be able to wear them with my jeans tucked in, leggings, dresses and skirts (very important)

So I went high and low, different stores and I found a few nice options. Not all of the boots I found were in my price range but some are worth sharing.

All these boots are amazing, over priced and not exactly what I’m looking for. I want them ALL! lol

I love the brown Golden Goose boots, I never heard of this brand and I found out the hand make all their boots and that’s why they’re so expensive. Love it, even more exclusive and unique!

The DvF boots on the other hand is more realistic to my criteria list, except the price is a bit too high and it might not go with all my dresses and skirts. But as casual wear, its a winner.

But, I’m on a budget and I still have to look at few more places before I can open my wallet and spend my hard earned money. When I finally find my new boots Ill post a picture of them …..

Till I find my boots though I’m going to look through my new shoe inspiration book, “Shoe Gallery Calendar 2010“, lots of pretty shoes, sigh….

The Vancouver Olympics torch is coming through the city of Toronto (Yorkmills and Bayview Ave. at 2.40pm)  and I’m planning to be there and be part of the hopefully exciting event….I figured it’s close enough for me to go drop by and snap a few pictures of the torch and let the spirit of the Olympics take over me..hahaha

So stay tuned for the pictures!!!!!

I happened to run into the Nokia website and found this amazing nanotechnology filled phone by them. The Nokia Morph is everything a busy person needs from a phone. It charges it self, it keeps it self clean and can change shape.

The thought of where technology is going spins my mind…..Check out the video for this amazing concept phone.

I recently was a victim of a gender discrimination crime. That’s right, gender discrimination I say. I honest to god believe that most women, at least %80, do not know a thing about car repair or how to keep up a car, and they get taken advantage of by mechanics all over the world! I’m talking beyond oil changes and putting gas in the car, more like when it’s time to buy new tires, or the difference between a good thump and bad thump noise.

My parents believed in taking their car to get regular maintenance by an official dealership service center. I watched my dad take our cars in every once in a while for checkups, oil change, batteries and etc. So, when I grew up and got a car I followed the same school of thought, yes it costs more than your average joe car shop but at least I know they’re not using crap pieces on my car.

This is how I became a victim………I love my car, a beautiful Volkswagen, 6 years old and only 64000 on it, that is apparently good. Back in May I called my service center to see if my car was up for any checkups,  “don’t worry, you haven’t put on too many kilometers since your last checkup, bring it in before winter.”, said the woman over the phone.(traitor!!! hahaha) Being a clueless person about cars I went “Super, so call you in November!”.

Well, November turned in to mid December and I felt the need to make that appointment the day before the first winter storm. I made the call and the woman said “bring it in, you’re up for a type 1 maintenance and its $150″, so I did. I went in and a different person told me “oh, your last major checkup was in 2006, you need a type 4 now.”

me: how much is that?

the guy: $500, but with that, we check everything in your car.

me: wow, expensive! Ummm, ok I guess I should do it to make sure my car is in working condition for the winter.

the guy: yes ma’am, so we be done with it in 2 hours or so.

2.5 hours later, I’m chatting away on my phone trying to work on my laptop when the same guy walks up to me with a concerned look.

me: its done??

the guy: I need to talk to you about somethings.

He pulls out a report filled with all these things I need to change on my car, NOW! Brakes (all 4 of them), battery, 2 tires, some light somewhere, something about exhaust pipe. The list goes on and on….

me: how much is all this gonna cost me????

the guy: well, $2200, but you still have to pay the $500, plus tax.

me: *cough* but, I don’t get it. I have to do this all now? I can’t, it’s A LOT of money! (remember I’m a student, I barely make any money at my full-time job)

the guy: I made a list, only do important stuff..brakes, battery and….

I tuned him out…..

So, I made a deal with the guy to only do only urgent/important stuff and only up to $1000, that’s including tax and the $500 fee.

Then he went off to do the changes, meantime after about 20 mins, I realized something, if I had brought my car in for a checkup in May like I thought I should I wouldn’t have been blind sided like this now. So, I went and talked to the service center manager and told him what happened and how because of their staff’s bad advice now I have all these things I need to do right before winter. I did not doubt the need to change the items on the list, normal wear and tear of a car. Following their staff’s bad advice put me in a bad situation and a grumpy mood.

So I manged to get some discount for the work I was getting done that day and when I take my car back in for the rest of the stuff I would get a discount then. So YAY!!!!!

Now, things I learned from my 4.5 hour stay at the waiting room of VW service center:

- Make note of the times you take your car in for checkups and maintenance

- keep all your paper works, you can’t always rely on people’s knowledge of your car’s history

- when in doubt, ask questions

- shop for different prices, if you don’t mind going to a normal mechanic, it’s worth the time to look around

- ask friends to help out, I called my guy friends who know stuff about cars to get their opinion about my situation, some referred me to their personal mechanic!

So don’t feel the pressure that you need to do everything they tell you right away, take a day sleep on it and make your decision!

I still have 6 more items to cross of my list, I’m gonna start with buying 2 new tires and then changing another set of brakes…..sigh…money outta my pocket!