My Canadian Bucket List: The Fair at the PNE aka Game of Thrones exhibition

This entry should be about The Fair at the PNE and *also* the Game of Thrones exhibition. When I think about a fair, I think rides, candy floss, bad burgers and stalls. The fair over here is all that except for the exhibition, a market place where they sell all that shit from TV and you have to pay extra for the rides. So since my main motivation was the GoT thang, that was all I aimed for.

To begin, I started working full time when the exhibition started. In retail, that means working erratic hours and impossible to plan shit. So I had the very last two days to actually go and see the exhibition. On the second to last day, I was told it was sold out. Not that there was an additional cost but because there were time tickets and there were too many people. Which meant I had to queue up an hour before the gates actually opened on the last day of the fair which also coincided with a national holiday. It was fun.

Luckily my determination too see the exhibition and sit on the iron throne was at an all-time high so I queued with families, screaming babies and other nerds. We were let in early and because they limit the amount of people, you could enjoy the exhibition without being rushed.

Naturally I made a beeline for the iron throne. And I like to be believe I look like a boss who could control Westeros.

Afterwards I went into the line for the 4D simulation thing. In this 'ride' you get locked up in a cage, get earphones and weird goggles and believe that you are really ascending the wall. There's cold weather and everything, you shiver. Then when you get to the top, you get attacked with a fire arrow and fall down. Down the wall. It scares the bejesus out of you. People shout out loud. I was strong enough to keep my screams in or rather the staff were too polite to tell me I didn't scream.

 Then I finally got a chance to see the rest of the exhibition. Even if you're not a die-hard fan, this shit is amazing. The costumes for one are next level. It will not believe the details up close. You're not allowed to touch them obviously but you don't need to appreciate the craftmanship.

The weapons and artifacts are also amaze. It's all about the little things. A lot of stuff you may miss in the series but remember from the books have been included. They're subtle little gifts to the fans and they're great.

As a book nerd, I really enjoyed seeing the sigils for all the houses. I'm House Martell till I die so happy they included some of the houses you wouldn't notice or recognise from the TV show.

The other fabulous thing was the remembrance wall. It was a vigil to all the fallen characters which included a very funny video actually.

The only bleh moment was the gift shop. As it was the last day I expected the dregs but what was left was really crappy. Not to mention ka-ching. Now all of Canada is ka-ching but these were pretty ridiculous. Not all geeks are software developers with spare money.

 This was a major item on my bucket list and I'm super happy I got to experience it.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

My Life In Gifs: Speed Dating Special

I am a happy single girl. Not one of those "why won't he love me", "when am I getting married", "why am I all alone", and the worse "I'll just get some cats". 

So when it comes to boys and dating I like it but I am not obsessed about being with someone. Saying that there are times when I want someone to hold my hand at the movies or make out with at bars or really just bring me coffee in bed and tell me I’m pretty. Usually my girls and gays give sufficient attention enough but hardly any of them will make out with me. So perhaps I need less selfish friends.

So along with one of my buddies we decided to try out speed dating. Now I am good at talking shit for 5 minutes with anyone but even I was nervous about this experience. But because I had nothing to lose (except my dignity) I doubled-up the gin and got my speed dating on.

Bachelor 1 – Hot Asian Guy

Now as you know I have a dream of one day having an Asian baby of my own. So you can imagine my joy when the first guy I sat down with was Asian. Not to mention a Hot Asian. It was like ding, ding, ding, jackpot! He was very sweet, a little nervous but he laughed at my jokes. Also we have a love of food blogs. Can you imagine our beautiful little Asian babies running around while we look at Desserts for Breakfast.

Bachelor 2 – The Good Guy

Next up was a guy whose family tree is filled with designers, fashion, graphic and interior. And then him. He chose to be a teacher. And not just any teacher, he helps the underprivileged. He visits Tsunami kids in Thailand and teaches sports outreach to kids in townships. Swoon! These may be all lines but trust me, they worked!

Bachelor 3 – The IT Guy

You know that IT guy in your company that is nice and all but there’s not much there and you’re only really chatting to them because they download Game of Thrones in HD; that was this guy. He was nice but unless I need new episodes of The Good Wife I don’t see love in our future.

Bachelor 4 – The Foreign Guy

Remember in the World Cup when there were all these cute guys from different countries and it was up to us girls to make them feel at home? Oh? Just me then? Whoops. Well at least I was a good ambassador. This guy travels around a lot and does year stints in different countries. I am sure we bonded but I think I was too distracted by his accent. If he were to call me and say random words, it would be a very long term relationship.

Bachelor 5 – The Hard-to-Read Guy

Sometimes when I go out to very hipster places I feel I have to act like them. Which means I have to be unimpressed and act nonchalant about all the cool things we are doing. Sometimes I really don’t care; sometimes I am pretending. That is how I felt about this guy. He was either very depressed to be there or playing so cool, he was Vanilla Ice. Also he doesn’t watch 30 Rock so that made up my mind.

Bachelor 6 – The Bleh Guy

Urggh. No words. Actually a few words. Do not give me lectures about 80s music. Do not get all offended when I don’t know the year Love Will Tear Us Apart was released. And do not look like a hot silver fox with a beard and delicious biceps whilst being a douche.

Bachelor 7 – The Prospective Guy

We bonded over the British version of The Office, we laughed about the people who go to Tiger (even though we both spent misguided years of our youth there), about the amount of Hen Parties at Decodance and how no one wants to hear play-by-play commentary on toddler’s bowel movements on Facebook. Me likey.

So for a first foray, I give speed-dating a big thumbs up!

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Dear Future Boyfriend Part Eleven

As we know men and women speak different languages. We say one thing but we mean another. I realise certain men are predisposed to not notice the important things – which are always little and subtle – and who can blame them. Women can be very confusing. We have ideas in our heads which we understand and which other girls understand. And we just assume that you’ll understand them as well. So we say one thing but we can mean something entirely different. And for that we should apologise.

I don’t us to ever have miscommunication issues. And I know although I think I say what I mean, it doesn’t always translate. So here are some examples for you:

When I Say I Like Bearded Men.

 I mean this

Not this

A rugged manly man is something so delish. A well-trimmed beard and some light stubble shows that you’re just the right amount of strong and yet you still are considerate enough not to leave your lady with beard rash. Anything that you can pull is bad. Like ZZ Top-esque and we’re screaming date rapist.

When I Say I Like Nerdy Guys

I mean this

Not this

 

 

This is one of those scenerios where we *definitely* say something but mean something else entirely. Instead of nerdy guys I should say I like guys who have watched Game of Thrones, read the Lord of the Rings and wear glasses. Also who are a bit shy and sensitive. I really don’t want to have to go to conventions, play Magic the Gathering and listen to you talk about coding.

When I Say I Eat A Lot

I mean this

Not this

I am not a salad girl. I like a salad. On the side of a big steak and chips. I am not exaggerating when I talk about my food addiction. And yes I will finish everything on my plate. Food is my favourite time of day.

When I Say I Like Romance

I mean this

Not this

I like romantic things. Hell I even love Valentine’s day and I’m single. I think if you can show off your love do it. I just prefer simple things like a moonlit picnic or homemade love coupons or anything homemade actually. Things that you’ve learnt or seen from movies are probably not gonna do it for me. Unless it’s a flashmob singing and dancing along to a cheesy love song. That is something big I can get behind. Please don’t offer to wash my hair, fill a room with too many candles or use massage oil when you have no experience of how slippery and messy it really is.

Got it all? 

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!