Last Post

Hi everyone,

It's been awhile since my last post. Once again I'm really sorry :(

This will be my last post on here... I know it's really sudden but fear not! I'm not quitting blogging; I'm just moving over to Wordpress.

Last night I wanted to log into Youtube to watch some videos. When I got to the site I got a message telling me that I will no longer be able to log into my account without providing them my cell phone # (so they can send me a confirmation code by text)!! They claim it's for anti-spam purposes and to protect their users from abuse but personally, I'm not really convinced. They don't exactly have a stellar record in the privacy department:
New York Times: Google Says It Inadvertently Collected Personal Data.


To be honest this really annoyed me to the point that I decided on the spot to move my blog elsewhere. As you may or may not know, Google owns Youtube, Gmail, and yes, even Blogger. They seem to have started the whole requiring a cell # deal with Gmail first and have now moved onto Youtube. I got a message each time I logged into Youtube for months asking me to link my Youtube account with a Google account. Each time I would say "not now" or something to that effect to bypass it. Now it seems I don't have that option anymore. I HAVE to provide a cell # or I can't log into Youtube. If they've done that to Gmail and now Youtube, who's to say they won't move onto Blogger later? I'd rather leave now than to make the move later.

Some might think I'm overreacting and that's fine, that's your opinion and I respect that. You might be thinking: "Why do you even care about giving out a cell #? You've already shared your pictures and even things about your life on the Internet." However, the issue here is that it was my choice to share that information whereas now I'm forced to give it out if I want to keep my account. That's what I don't agree with and that's why I'm leaving. To be fair you can still watch Youtube videos without an account but you can't comment on videos, rate them or thumbs up/down comments.

All pictures are clickable thumbnails

Youtube asking you to link your Youtube account with a Google account.


So ok, at this point I wasn't too annoyed yet. I went ahead and entered my info for the Google account since I already have one.

This was the page that did it for me. I HAD to give a cell phone # so they could text me a confirmation code which I then had to tell them in order to complete the registration process.


What if I didn't have a cell phone number? Read this little gem of a quote from Youtube's FAQ:

If you're trying to sign up for a YouTube Account, you may be asked to provide a mobile number to verify your identity. We'll send you a verification code via SMS, so make sure the phone you use has text-messaging capabilities. If you don't have a mobile phone and are prompted to enter your phone number, you may want to ask a friend if you can use his or her number to receive a code.

This was just too much and through Googling (I know, ironic) it's pretty clear that I'm not the only one upset by this.

Typing in the search terms "youtube requires phone number" yielded these results:


Typing in the search terms "gmail requires phone number" yielded these results:



Anyway, after that whole mess I decided to see if I could log into my other Youtube account. I had two accounts. One that I had since forever and I'd used to subscribe to my fav gurus. The other Youtube account I'd made just for uploading videos for this blog. Luckily I was still able to log into that one so I went in and deleted all my videos and then permanently closed that account.

After that I decided onto setting up my new blog at Wordpress. Wordpress didn't strike me as a company that would do what Google is doing now. As well, later on if I wanted my own domain, it would probably be powered by Wordpress anyway so it seemed like a good move for the future.

After making a blog at Wordpress, I have to say I'm super impressed! I was worried about how I could easily read all my blog subscriptions but it seems like Wordpress has all that covered and more. I love the sleek, clean interface as well.

Blogger Dashboard


Wordpress Dashboard


Wordpress - Managing blog subscriptions



I would say I've regretted making my blog at Blogger first instead of at Wordpress if it weren't for all the wonderful people I've met on here. Everyone that I've had the chance to talk to is what made my time a Blogger so enjoyable so it's hard to leave but I believe I'm making the right decision. Thank you for all the love and support and I hope I'll get to see you over at my new home:

VANITY HOLIC @ WORDPRESS.COM

As for the the blog entries on here and the fate of this blog, I've decided to leave everything as is. I will not be deleting this blog so everything will still be accessible. Commenting will still be moderated but please be aware that I don't plan to log in very often. If you have any questions please send me an email instead. You can find it under the "About" tab at the top. If you would like to thank me for any of my post(s) then please just click the "i like it" reaction under the post. Many thanks and take care!

A life update...

Hey everyone, I'm back!

Sorry for the unexpectedly long hiatus... I was really busy with work. This will be a "life" update so feel free to skip if you're not interested.

Anyway, so the reason for my absence has been because someone at work had found a new job and has left us. I don't think I've ever mentioned this, but I was actually a temporary worker at the place I'm working at right now. I was not being paid by my workplace but through a job agency. However, because I was doing a good job and because my coworker was leaving, there was a spot open and they decided to hire me full time! *YAY* Next Monday will be my first day as an official full time employee :D

Well, we found out my coworker D was leaving about 2-3 weeks before Christmas and since then I've been training on quite a few new tasks. His last day was before our Christmas holidays and he's now been gone for a few weeks. I miss him since he was a wonderful trainer and friend but I am extremely happy for him that he got his new job ^^

I am now going to eventually fully take on the tasks that he was responsible for. I'm really happy that I got this full time position because I love the workplace and the people that I work with. As well, the pay is pretty good. I'm also thankful for a job that's stable :D Now I'm just saving up for furniture and other house expenses!!

So that's why I've been MIA... I always felt very tired after work and didn't really feel like blogging at all. I also haven't been keeping up with my fellow bloggers, so sorry *tears* I just didn't really have the time. However now I feel better (less tired) and I am more familiar with my new tasks so I'm getting back into blogging!

Anyway, enough blah blahs... I have some pictures for you!

I had an awesome Christmas/New Years break!! I had about 7 days off in total and the 3 Fridays leading up to Christmas Day we got to work only half day. Sweeet ^^

Here are some pictures from the Christmas lunch! They paid for us all to go to a nice Italian restaurant and also bought us wine. Everything was deeeelish :D

We were two tables so here's the people I sat with.

C & L


D (This is D who left us -- on the left) and D


E and J


S and E again

They gave us these appetizers to munch on while our meals were being prepared.


Main


Dessert - Crème brûlée


During the holidays, I bought a lot of stuff *hangs head in shame*, lol. I couldn't help it! It was super discounted and they were all mostly items I wanted to get anyway so it's like I saved a ton of money... or at least that's how I rationalized it XD

Here's some! ... the ones I bothered to take pics of. I also bought organizational things like a new clothing rack, a new set of plastic drawers to stick into my closet, etc. I might take pics of my layout later although it's not really anything special... and actually, my room looks super cramped now ^^;;

I got the perfume sampler with the 20$ off VIB coupon Sephora emailed me :D! I only paid about 29$ CAD for it!

• Velveteen floral headband - Aldo
• Perfume sampler - Sephora
• Victoria Beckham: That extra half an inch - Coles
  

I love Adidas so I was glad to add this hoodie to my collection.

• Adidas track jacket - Aritzia
• Black skirt - Jacob
  

I'll post more stuff later... I bought a new winter jacket that I just love oh-so-much so I definitely want to show you all. I also bought a lovely new black trench coat so I can finally cross that off my wishlist!

A few recent pics and then my New Years resolutions to finish off this post!




Newest pic - took it last weekend


My New Year's Resolutions
Health

• Go to bed early. Between 10-10:30PM
• Continue avoiding foods with dairy - The only exception is a bit of ice cream 2x a week.
• Continue avoiding sugary foods
• Continue drinking lots of water
  
• Start working out 3x a week. Need to get into shape and lose 10-15 lbs. Need to majorly tone up!

Beauty

• Continue fighting my acne. Aim to have not even 1 spot on my face. Fade my old hyperpigmentation marks by the end of this year
• The end goal: to be able to not wear any foundation on a daily basis

Personal

• Save more money! I do save my money pretty well but I want to save even more! I'm in the process of creating a budget plan for myself so once it's made I want to stick with it!
• Sign up for driving school soon! I delayed this for yeeears so I want this to be the year that I actually get this done, lol!
• Stop getting annoyed with stupid and/or unreasonable people. I just need to relax and not let these types of people annoy me so much :(

That's about it? It's actually quite a lot... XD Lot's of self improvement in the very near future. What goals have you set for yourselves? Are they realistic ones?

This will be a Davidlicious post :)

Hey guys!

It's pretty late right now but I felt like finally updating about the best Wednesday I'd had in a long while so I'm going to struggle to get this up asap so I can get to bed :)

Hope y'all enjoy this post ^^

This was supposed to be my 100th blog post but then I updated a few of my circle lens reviews with new pictures. One post ended up being split into two... and now I'm a little sad that this is post 101 instead of 100th.

Besides that minor detail, I'd like to tell you all about last Wednesday! Any David Usher fans among my blog readers?

Wednesday December 8, 2010:
David Usher @ the Shenkman Arts Centre
Official David Usher website: http://davidusher.com/

So, David Usher. No, not the rapper. David Usher is a mega talented but under-rated Canadian singer/songwriter. He peaked with "Alone in the Universe" and "Black Black Heart" (circa early 2000s) which was when I took notice of him. I was in my teens back then and I seriously loved him sooo much! I remember he came to play at a club in Ottawa and I was underage at the time. I was seriously so disappointed I couldn't see him! After that I moved on and got into other music, etc, etc and it wasn't until I found out that he was playing in Ottawa again that I decided to get tickets and finally see the man live!

Boy was I glad that I did ♥ I bought my bf a ticket as well (that and dinner before the show is part of his Christmas present ^^!). At first he was very skeptical about going to see David but now he's a fan, yaaayy! I love it when things work out ;)

Let's start from the beginning...

The show was to start at 8PM so after work Albert and I met up and had dinner at this awesome Indian restaurant. My first time there and I really liked the food, atmosphere and service. I would definitely go back!






The furniture was really nice and ethnic looking. It was even personalized with the restaurant's name!




After dinner we went to a nearby mall for a bit of shopping and to kill time. Then finally it was time to see David Usher!! I didn't get any pics of the building... didn't think of it :( But really, it wasn't anything special... it looked like any other city owned facility.

I didn't take many pics since my camera doesn't fare well in low lighting... :( Most of the pics are actually from my bf's HTC.


It was a pretty small venue... I would say there was only about 200-250 seats. We sat in the first quarter of the room so not the very best seats but they were definitely pretty good :D



David's on a tour for his latest album, The Mile End Sessions.

Taken from the Shenkman Arts Centre page:

David is touring in support of his seventh solo album “The Mile End Sessions”. With 1.3 million albums sold worldwide, and multiple Juno Awards (both with his band Moist and as a solo performer), David has had numerous hit radio songs in Canada, Europe and Asia over the past 20 years.

"The Mile End Sessions" is composed of hits and live favourites, spanning Usher’s solo career, re-interpreted in stripped down, acoustic arrangements. “I woke up one morning with the idea of an acoustic album, re‐visualizing the songs with new arrangements,” explains David. “With space and air for the vocal and melody to breathe, tracing my way back to when they were first written.”

Apparently the venue says no pictures or videos. They even had a broadcasted message over the intercom but when David got on stage, he said it was ok, lol.




David coming up to join the crowd! He was on the other side of where we sat.


There he is in the crowd XD He's pointing down and saying everyone looks so sexy on stage, haha.






David coming up to our side! He was so close... only a row down.. and then later he got to a row above us and then turned back to the stage.










I found this cool site with the setlist! You should all check it out! It even has a "play" button beside each song so you can listen and watch videos of the songs ♥. Some of the link are unfortunately broken but the ones that do load are super fast!! Go explore ^^

(Click on the picture to get to the page with videos)

Edit this setlist | More David Usher setlists

I recommend: Everyday things, The Music, My Way Out, Forest Fire, Alone in the Universe, Je Repars (new French song :)!, And So We Run, Black Black Heart, Devil By My Side, Hey Kids.

-- If you only watch two videos from that list, I'd suggest Devil By My Side (live) and Hey Kids (Audio with slideshow). Devil By My Side is a clear video and you can see his charisma :) Plus I love that song! The lyrics are amazing. Hey Kids is really catchy and mellow.


Devil By My Side Lyrics:
Believe in hope,
Believe in faith,
Believe in things I can't fight,
Believe in truth,
Believe in slavery,
But it's only the television kind,
Believe that light will find a way,
Believe in jets as they blow into the sky
Believe in you, believe in me,
And all of these things,

Devil's by my side,
And the freaks are out we're in force tonight,
And you opened me wide,
'Cause it's cold in there and it's warm outside

Believe that hate will never die,
Believe in sex and love in a dangerous time,
Believe in grace and your intelligence,
Believe in exploring the corners of the mind,
Believe your truth is not my truth,
That God can exist with many faces at one time,
Believe that we will find a way through all of these things,

Devil's by my side,
And the freaks are out we're in force tonight,
And you opened me wide,
'Cause it's cold in there and it's warm outside,
It's hard when you realize that you'll never have what you're trying to find.


Final thoughts:
We had such an amazing night. David's live voice is phenomenal. Definitely better than the CD! We were seriously entranced by that melodic voice and 2 hours flew by! I love his voice because it's so, so smooth, yet powerful, and he sings so effortlessly. He writes his own songs and I really love some of the lyrics.

At the show I got the impression that he's a really down to earth guy and he doesn't mind mingling with the crowd. He even took pictures with some lucky fans who asked him for pictures as he was walking by. He carries himself with such ease you can tell that this is definitely someone who's comfortable in his own skin, very laid back, and doesn't put up a front. He's true to himself and clearly not trying to cash in on his musical career. He used to be with a much larger label (and was also more popular) but has since opted for a smaller label which I'm guessing probably allows him much more artistic freedom.

Albert left the show impressed and I bought his newest CD on the spot :D There was also an autograph session but it was getting late and we needed to be at work so we skipped that. It would have been nice to have his autograph but maybe next time! Oh there will definitely be a next time for seeing David Usher! (Don't know about another cd signing but I'm not too concerned about that :)

All in all, an amazing night and for all you Canadians out there (especially the ones in the Toronto, Ottawa, and the Montreal region), be sure to check out David Usher next time he's in town. I promise you won't regret it! This is what live music is all about! Ps. he lives in Montreal :O Pretty cool.

Lastly, here are two videos I took. I only recorded these two because they're the most nostalgic for me. Not the best quality but enjoy ^^

David Usher - Alone in the Universe (MV here)


David Usher - Black Black Heart (MV here)


Credits and Links of Interest:
Pictures Google Images
Lyrics AzLyrics.com
Youtube video interview: David on his latest album, The Mile End Sessions, and thoughts on Montreal