MSN, work, etc.

What I really don't understand is why people insist on sharing the stories of their lives on the little section that Windows Live Messenger suggests you "Enter a personal message."

I just realized I kind of messed up a little bit of something at work today and the fact that I have to wait until Monday to fix it is going to drive me insane all weekend long!

Aside from that, NYC was amazing, work is pretty great, and I love getting to spend so much time in the city! I think I'll start taking my camera out and about with me after work and maybe doing a bit on Toronto Street Fashion.

New, Continued

Guns in America: I just don't understand Americans sometimes. I mean, surely the answer isn't to supply the population with even more guns?

Worldwide Sympathy Over Shootings: another very interesting article that compares gun violence in the United States to that of other developed nations while examining associated laws and regulations.

Admittedly, not all of these comparisons are entirely valid but they do suggest an interesting aspect of American culture: an obsession with handguns. Perhaps there is a connection between this attitude and the increase of gun-related homicides in the United States in recent decades? Either way, it is something that should seriously be taken into consideration because events like this simply should not take place, at least not as often as they seem to in the United States.

Comments on the News

There seems to be plenty going on in the news lately:

US University Shooting Kills 33: I just find this all both tragic and horrifying. It just seems that gun violence is continuing to increase in the United States, and I'm not trying to lay the blame anywhere in particular but surely something can be done about this! This tragedy is also a reminder never to take life for granted; it is such a precious gift that can be lost at any given moment without so much as a signal or warning. Despite everything I can't help but be truly shocked by this event. The victims of this tragedy and their families are in my thoughts and my deepest condolences go out to everyone affected by this. Perhaps Hobbes was right after all?

German Army Condemns Racial Video: Well, this is just bizarre. I actually thought it was a joke at first, but you just can't be that naive can you? The German army seems to be dealing with plenty of problems recently.

Pride

"'My grandpa always said asking a question is embarrassing for a moment, but not asking is embarrassing for a lifetime.'" -- Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

So I am currently in the middle of reading Kafka on the Shore and I stumbled upon this quote, which happened to hit close to home. I often wish I could let go of my own pride and insecurities in order to do what I know is best for me. Sometimes I'm successful at it, other times, not so much.

Justin Timberlake!

I am so excited because Valerie and I are seeing Justin Timberlake on the 21st of August at the Air Canada Center!
It's actually interesting how much I used to dislike him back in the days of 'NSYNC but now I can't help but adore him. I just felt like sharing that.

Scandinavia

I just had to come here and express my love for everything that is Scandinavian, or more specifically, Swedish. There is so much I adore that hails from that small, northern country -- from H&M, Ikea, J. Lindeberg, to that boy I met while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. Now all I have to do is marry a Swedish man and I shall be forever complete. Anyway, recently, I've also discovered that they have rather impressive street style in Stockholm. People on the streets of Copenhagen are quite well-dressed as well! I've been browsing through both websites for some style inspiration and they never fail to provide me with just that. Although I do enjoy walking through the streets of Toronto and checking out what people are wearing because, from time to time, you do encounter some very well-clad ladies and gentlemen but, unfortunately, being in university and thus having to spend most of my time in Waterloo, there seem to be less and less opportunities to do so. This is another reason why I am so excited about the end of term and the possibility of soon being able to work in Toronto's downtown neighborhood. Furthermore, I'm off to New York City on the 20th, which means I'll get to spend some time in one of my favorite cities of this world!

A Sad Day Indeed

Not only am I quite certain that my Microeconomic Theory final exam did not go too well but one of my all-time favorite writers, Kurt Vonnegut has died. Something else that has caused me ample grief is that there's more news coverage and media attention on the death of someone like Anna Nicole Smith than that of a talented literary great like Kurt Vonnegut. It really makes you wonder about the state of the world. RIP Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).

"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt." - Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

Exam-Time

I'm currently taking a break from studying for tomorrow's Microeconomics exam, which by the looks of it is going to be nothing short of hellish. As I was reading about Price Leadership and Quantity Leadership in an Oligopoly, though, the constant references made by my textbook to "the leader," got me giggling slightly as I had flashbacks of Homer Simpson running through my head. These flashbacks were mainly of him praising "the leader" and singing relevant songs along the lines of "leader, na, na, na, na, na, na, leader," in the episode where this alleged leader had created a new religion and was supposedly going to take the people of Springfield to a new planet, or something to that effect. It was nice to find something amusing in my textbook for a change.

On another note, recently, I've been seriously admiring some of the Absolut Vodka ads of the past. I've always been kind of interested in ads, in general, especially the ones I see in my monthly issue of Vogue, and Absolut makes a regular appearance, so I figured I'd look into some of their past advertising campaigns. They're brilliantly creative and original and I figured I'd share a couple that I found either through Absolut Ad or Absolut Ads. In particular, I adored the "places" theme, as well as some of the Tom Ford and Andy Warhol ones. Absolutely genius. I also adored the Absolut Hunk spoof for Sex and the City, that was quite fantastic. Here are some of my personal favorites:

These make me awfully nostalgic though, and I begin to miss not only Absolut Vodka but also St. Petersburg, Vienna and Prague. I wish they had done an Absolut Toronto or something but the best I could find was Absolut Canada, and it was rather interesting, actually. And now back to my readings of Microeconomic theory. More posts are definitely soon to come.

First Post: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

So recently I've decided to abandon all previous attempts at blogs/online journals to start anew here. This is primarily because, for whatever reason, I no longer felt as though I could be entirely open and and candid in my entries. This lead me to believe that there was no longer an purpose to these blogs and so I stopped contributing to them entirely. At first I thought I might be able to go about my daily life as though I didn't need an outlet of this sort but I couldn't live in denial for too long. The reason I decided this would be a good place for a fresh start is that, for one thing, no one here knows who I am and I don't quite know anyone else here either. Plus, I love the clean cut and professional appearance this blog has to it. As for the title, "Prima Luce" literally means "at first light" or "dawn". Since this is a place of new beginnings, I figured this was a rather befitting title.

Anyway, for my first entry, I thought I would introduce myself. My name is Katrina, I'm 19 years old, and I live in Toronto, Canada:

Credit for the second picture goes here. Recently, I've become a resident of Waterloo, after enrolling myself at the University of Waterloo in September of 2006. I'm currently a student of mathematics and planning to major in actuarial science. I've been finding it hard to adjust to life in a new town, although Toronto is only about an hour and a half drive away. The hardest part for me was getting used to living on a university campus located in a city with a population of just over 100,000. I certainly prefer living in a thriving metropolis over a sleepy, yet somehow, research and development intensive town. Toronto is still my primary home, though. I do hope, however, that someday this will be my home:

New York City, that is, as the pictures don't make that too obvious. Or somewhere in Western Europe, like Stockholm or Zurich. Someday. Aside from mathematics, my interests mostly involve photography, reading, fashion, dance, and fitness. There's always something going on in my head, something I want to get out and share, but I'm not always sure who to share it with. Who would understand? Who would care to listen? Why would/should they care to listen? I'm not referring to the emotionally-charged ramblings of a miserable teen-ager going through a difficult time in life or anything of that sort. That isn't me and that isn't what this is about. This is mostly going to be my outlet for random, generally useless, observations, opinions, and the like. The anonymity is nice and comforting here, and also knowing that no one is going to stumble upon this blog with some sort of predetermined expectations that I should be concerned with.