Curse the internet... Why are you so attractive in my eyes??!! I can't even study with you and I'm going to need glasses one day if I continue like this.

From now on, I'm going to the public library four times a week on school days to study and do my homework. That'll surely keep me away from the internet and I'll be blogging once a week to you guys because I need to get a move on in my studies or I won't go anywhere with bad marks. I got a 67% on my last math exam, it's bad!! I need higher than this! French... I'm not doing so well, being in Enrichi is hard already... Lots of grammaires to learn.

Starting now, I'll be blogging once a week except on holidays. =D

A little quote I'd like to share with you guys before I leave, it's in my agenda and it's in French...

Here goes : Ne dites pas que vous n'avez pas le temps. Vous avez exactement le meme nombre d'heures par jour qu'ont eu Pasteur, Michel-Ange, de Vinci ou Albert Einstein...

In English : Don't tell me you don't have time. You have exactly the same numbers of time as Pasteur, Michel-Ange, de Vinci or Albert Einstein...

By : H.Jackson Brown

Hehe... I did my best to translate it. The quote is so right. Remember guys, don't ever say you guys don't have time for anything!

For years, I've been living for someone else. I ended up not knowing what I really want.

I got a lot of concern about my choice in life, and got called an idiot by a friend of mine on what he thought of me taking a gap year after high school, so I thought... Maybe going with the flow is better. My parents told me I'll have more time to travel after I finish my studies, but I was really concern... I mean, what if I don't like my future job? I don't even know what I want to do. What if I don't have time to travel? My only love is to travel, to learn something from the outside and open up a brand new perceptive about life. I don't want to end up like my parents that work and travel to places that they only know. They are immigrant from Vietnam and China, money and good job equal happiness to them, not mine. I want to see something new and travel at a young age, so I thought to myself, not next year, it'll be in three years, after I graduate, I'll get to take a year or two off to do what I have always want to do since I was little kid. At the same time, I was afraid of returning to school and be one of the oldest student in University. I was afraid of people thinking that I was crazy to be taking time off from my study. I turned to you guys for advice and most of you encouraged me to travel, I went to another forum and they encouraged me to travel too, another forum suggested me to study abroad... That I don't feel like doing it.

I have made my final choice for now... I'm going to travel after I finish college and there's no stopping me. Maybe college will change my perception, but for now, I'd decided that it'll be in three years.

Time to save up!!

First stop in three years, LONDON!!

P.S : Challenge money : 1$ for no spend day and 2$ for Homework = 129$

3871$ to go... =)

London 2009

Yep... I start working on Saturdays starting next saturday... Can we say a YEAH??!! Oh yeah!! 7 am to 3 pm, after that, I'll do my homework and study... How flexible =). The boss is pretty easy going but I shouldn't abuse him too much like my old boss. Like taking a break for two weeks because of exams (the hours of work are bad, I have no choice but to take two weeks off)

Anyways, I'll swear to myself to work hard and keep my job for awhile... Not to forget, have the chance to work full-time in the summer... Yeah, yeah, I know I'm thinking too far, it wouldn't hurt to plan things to keep me positive. My friend who used to work there said that the job is the easiest thing to do but it gets a little repetitive. As long as I get to have contact with customers and improve my social skills, I'll be alright.

I'll keep you guys post about the job. You just have to wait next saturday "after 3 pm"... =P Hehe!!


Remember my list guys ?

#1 : Get a mutual fund [CHECK]
#2 : Get a job[CHECK]
#3 : Wait till my 1st paycheck arrive
#4 : Separate my pay into different categories.
#5 : Have some fun money left for the month.
#6 : Repeat # 3, 4 et 5.

=D

Yay! Tim Horton has hired me! Woohoo... Hours are way more flexible. I work on Saturdays 7am to 3pm and on school breaks. I'll probably start this saturday or next for training and I do hope I'll get to learn fast so I can get my share of the tips... Hehe...

My dad was okay with the hours because it's not too late compare to my old job where I have to work 5pm to 11pm twice a week and it's very very close to my house, like 10 min of walking to get there. I hate my old job because I have to take the bus an hour early to get there, the hours are too late, it's not flexible enough, I can't change my job into a counter staff because they're already too much, the pay is bad and the job is boring in general. Oh yeah it's also my first job, I did a lot of mistakes that I don't want to remember anymore XP...

I guess that's it for now. I'll keep you guys update on my new job ! =)

Finally!! I've been waiting to get an interview in Tim Horton for three years and it's already the third time I handed my c.v to the same place. I can't wait tomorrow, and I'm pretty nervous... I hope I'll get the job and I'll like it.

I handed my c.v like 20 minutes ago and then, they called me for to meet him tomorrow at 4:30 pm. I can work on Fridays and Saturdays... Yes!!

Okay, I was distracted by my thoughts and the... Internet. I put 1$ because I got a 85% on my first English essay. It's the first time I did an essay in my life in English and I was doing pretty good... I even beat out some Billingual students that were there for awhile. I even got a 100% on my oral presentation with two of my friends on Chinese Dialects and the teacher was impressed. =D!!

The other 2$ I've put is to get my homework done today... I already put the money in my 20$ challenge, but I only did one homework and that's it... Gotta get my lazy ass off of the computer and concentrate in school. It's my last year in High school!! Remember Christina! Remember!

Today in my ECC class, my teacher said that there's eight differents options to choose from at the end of our high school and one of them is a gap year. I was really attracted to this idea of taking a year off to do whatever you want to do and to think about life. I'm not in college yet though.

I really want to take a year off from studies to travel. I think it'll be so fulfilling to achieve this... I'll probably take a year off to work in London for three or four months, travel Europe, go back home and go to Japan to work or teach English in Africa. It'll be really great. My dad said he's okay with it and my financial councelor said otherwise, that I won't be with people my age often. I know I'll meet different ages group, but I don't know...

Will the students in University accept me if I'm two or three years older than them?

I have set up a travel fund for three years already, I'll get to travel almost every summer if I have time, but it seems that when I go straight to University, I'll be going to summer school to catch up my credit scores which I'm really worry about.

Today I got back my 30$ that I've lend my friend a while back ago... I spent 5$ on chocolates bars for a kid that sell them. So yeah, I have 122$ already and I just started this September, so far so good I guess.

AAAH... I just bought two chocolates bars from a cute kid with her father. They were raising money for the school and each bar cost 2.50$, so I thought to myself : Why not? I can't say no... or they might think I'm rude or something and I couldn't resist helping them. So I bought two bars that cost in total 5$ with my 30$ that I just got back from lending money to a friend, now I got 25$ and I don't even like chocolates that much... I gave them to my little sister and I ate six little chocolates and that's it. What a waste though... Such an unplanned purchase for a good cause.

Did I do the right thing by buying those chocolates?! I don't feel that bad, but when I think about it... Now I have only 25$ left for my challenge money. ._______." I think I'm being cheap.

Today I decided to spend money on eating out because of what had happened yesterday... So I decided to cheer myself up with some food... Bought breakfast at Culture for 5.12$ and I sat near the fontain. I had lunch at a vietnamese place for 3.50$ a few minutes ago.

I spent 8.62$ only on eating out and I don't regret it. I had time to think about life in general and appreciate the beauty around me for a moment.

Today will be a start where I'll finish most of my homework. That's what I get for being lazy on the weekdays... *sigh* No spend day today, so I'm going to add 1$ on my challenge money and 2$ if I finish all my homework.

Now I know what this challenge will be about... I'm going to try to save 4 000$ for my trip to London in 3 years counting this year. Hopefully, I might be able to reach it on time. =D

I order the Money Sense magazine online with my dad airmiles card a few days ago and I'm currently waiting for it to be deliver to my house... I hope it's good.

I order 7 issues for a year for 100 airmiles. Anyone has read this magazine before? What do you guys think ? Is it good?

I count my challenge money that I had started in September 1st, 2006... So far, I have 92$! I'm feeling rich xD and it's not even the end of the month yet... =P Don't know what I'm going to do with it, and I have no clue what's my challenge is for... Ah well, it feels good to have a lot of money put aside.

Yesterday night I was doing my homework, then I got bored so I started counting my pennies in my pikachu bank. I didn't realize I have a lot of pennies in there...

I started putting my worthless pennies in for a year already with my little sister and we got 8.51$ already. I was so happy... We're going to use the money probably next year for our Disney trip for a special souvenir... She'll be 10 by then.

I taught my little sister to save last year when she was 8 and now she accumulates a lot of money these past few months from gift money and allowance. I'm very happy for her, but she's only a kid, she don't need to use the money for anything. I hate to imagine her in her teens like me... Haha... She'll have a lot of wants by then, anyways I'm keeping my hope up she won't turn like my brother who's a spender, even though I taught him to save his changes whenever he gets them and put it in a piggy bank, his spending habit hasn't change a bit.

My friend bought my GTO DVD for 50$ last tuesday. He gave me 40$ and he'll give me 10$ another time later next week probably. I put the money I earned from selling the DVD to my challenge money, that makes 60$ + 7$ (No spend day money) = 67$...

My friend owes me 10$ and another friend owes me 30$... I still have 40$ to put in. Hehe ^.^"

So far so good... This year should be good, I got awesome teacher except my math teacher who's very nice by the way with the execption that she can't really teach, my goals are set in two mutual funds, I have challenge money and all I need now is a job.

I'm going to college soon and I'm thinking of taking an IB programme in commerce, then this woman who's teaching math 536 this year came along and sabotage my goal. She... She can't teach.

Today, it was my fourth class with her, so far, it has been like hell, I kept getting pissed off at her each day. She told me to not panick... WHAT DO YOU EXPECT??!!! I need to pass this class in order to go to commerce... She suggested me to go for other things, that math is not my thing... WHAT?! I'm not giving up! I usually don't have a hard time understanding math in general . What gives ? I can't listen to her because she speaks too damn low... Her teaching style sucks... I'm completely doom this year. If I can't go to commerce this year... What else can I go to?

I don't have a job at this moment because of the stupid surgery that'll last for another 2 and a half week... And I can't do any sports for another 3 weeks. That sucks... So technically, I'm poor with money scartters everwhere in my room and banks.

So, I thought to myself. Why not start the 20$ challenge this month? I don't have any income that's coming in, but I have money to spend that I can save instead.

So far, 4 days of no spending equal to 24$ in my 20$ challenge... Hehe ^.^' I still haven't decide how much I put the money in... I'll decide later on when I have a job.

From what I decide on so far is...

1$/ no spend day
2$/ No wants

I just found out that I can get airmiles by using my credit card. From now on, any purchase I make will be put in my credit card, but I'll pay full when the bill come.

The reason I decide to do it now is because I found out with 4,900 points, I can get a free air ticket to go to a certain destination I want in the future... I pay most of my stuff in cash, why not in credit card ? I know the catch of the credit card with the airmiles, they want me to spend more, but I'm not going to fall for it. I'm already frugal, so I think I'm ready for the next big step in my life... Control my spending with a credit card, well since I don't go out a lot, I think I'll be fine for now.

Does that mean I won't use cash anymore? Naah, I'll bring a 20$ bill with me whenever I make purchase less than 5$. Hehehe ^.^