Decemberlicious- Unexpurgated

I'm really not all that sure that anything exciting happened in the month of December either. I think I spent one weekend in bed getting upset with myself for sleeping through my one day off and then spending the rest of the time lolling about in a sort of pathetic misery.

Good to get that out of the way at the beginning of the month I suppose. I did have a great weekend where I did many things, it was freezing cold out. Well even BELOW freezing cold! I made my way out to little India to buy some presents and poke around and have lunch. I love taking the streetcar out there because there is just so much more exciting things to see than the subway. I'm sure I've said this about ten million times before. But in life- there are passengers and there are drivers- well I'm a passenger... in the Iggy Pop sense of the word. Seriously though I don't really like driving, I get distracted and enraged and why should I bother? I like to be able to stare out at things as I pass them imagine them in a different setting, different light, different universe. That's just how I roll. Good for my scenic life, not so great if I'm behind a wheel.

The day after the outting to Inja (as I would say if I was terribly posh and british) it snowed! Lots of snow over night which made me very very happy. I met up that next day with Alex and Andrea for brunch although much of the time was spent waiting for the bus to come. Stupid #63 bus. For some reason they completely cut back on service and didn't bother to tell anyone. Now I understand that there is financial trouble, but heck take away the bus service in the boonies. Those people don't want to see anyone anyway- if they did they would - live- in - the- city. Yes and with that I am officially a city slicker, and I'm pretty happy to be that way. (this would be the unexpurgated part of the blog)

I came across that word (unexpurgated) last night while chatting with my friend Pili. We were talking about fairy tales and that sort of thing and I mentioned I have a Grimm's Fairy Tale book, given to me by my Briana, and in the front it states it is the original fairy tales, not the mother goose versions. Hence the "unexpurgated" meaning nothing has been taken out to make them more palatable.

I cannot remember the tale but my favourite one of all time ends in "open the window and let the lies out". In a sense telling us to all unexpurgate ourselves. We put up so many barriers for people and are made to feel that what we do in life is wrong that the face we present to the public edited it's no wonder we're all wandering around feeling isolated.

In general I try to live very openly with who I am and what I am feeling, sometimes I overshare and sometimes what I do and how I live my life doesn't sit well with other people but I came to a realization after the end of a friendship in which I was editing myself, trying to act so I wouldn't be offensive to their sensibilities, that this is not the way we need to act. We should try to be sensitive to other's but I think we could all do with a bit more honesty in our lives and stand up for our wants and needs.

I lost my bus pass this week which is crappy, but it's forcing me to walk more and that is a plus. I walked to work this morning, it's such a short walk I don't know why I have been so lazy about it lately. I suppose because I can be.

As I am finishing up this post it is snowing out. Could be the worst storm in forty years as one person described it. Had brunch plans with H this morning but we both realized that's just not going to happen. It's lovely and quiet outside and I am up early again hurrah! I have no real need to leave the house but I think I'll have to go for a walk in this kind of weather.

It is nice to be able to listen to "I am a Rock" and it really is a deep and dark december and the ground IS snow covered.

Don't be scared if these posts take a more philosphical turn in the new year. It is something I have been wanting to do for a while and if blogging is an interesting medium, in that it is an online diary- so I am going to endeavor to talk about what interests me and my thoughts rather than all description about my life.

So you are forewarned of the self indulgent turn this could take. I'm sure it won't be all moroseness and philosophy... I have a tendency towards goofiness and a deep appreciation of the ridiculous that will not settle down.

And that's all for now. At the rate I'm posting this could be the last post of the year worth any merit. However I will try to do an end of the year recap.

and now back to the snow
m

Spookaween and November

Ok so I have to write some backlog posts as my mum is getting cranky with me.... the HORROR! And we can't have a cranky mum AND since I can't placate her with freshly brewed coffee I have to write these up.

The rest of October was fairly uneventful. Brandy left and I was back to work at both jobs. Working days and nights doesn't really leave much time for anything else really. So that is what I did.

I covet my weekends though and one weekend day I walked from my house to Union Station along the waterfront. It was a super fall day- crisp out but still sunny for the most part. It took just over two hours maybe? And it was a great walk, the only crappy part was one section along the highway for a bit, but for the most part you can walk along the water in relative peace. I discovered some new bits of the city I had yet to see including a music garden.

The music garden was inspired by a symphony but some composer whose name I forget right now and I guess you can rent headphones and listen to it as you walk through each part. Pretty nifty idea if you ask me.

One weekend Florie and her family came into town. Florie and I met up and spent the day together wandering around downtown and hanging out. We went to the fashion district and spent an inordinate amount of time in a fabric store. Right now my sewing machine is on the fritz so I'm a bit frustrated that I can't do what I would like to be doing with regards to my sewing projects. And frustrated with myself because I haven't learned how to use my serger yet. Lazy lazy!

We poked around Kensington market and looked at the used shops which was great because Florie is so amazingly talented in the area of design and a great sounding board for any ideas.

After our day we met up with the family at her sister-in-laws and had delicious falafel for dinner and played Wii. Wii is pretty fun I must say. I'm not going to rush out and buy one but still I wouldn't be adverse to playing it if it was around. AND unbeknownst to me- I am a wii bowling whiz. TOTAL WHIZ!!! And I got my Serena fill in for the next little while. The little pooky is now sitting up on her own and pulling herself up and getting pretty close to walking. So adorable and lovely!

But other than that not very much really happened during the month. I'm not working five nights a week any more which is great, I now have Wed. night off to sort of pause and take stock (and by that I mean do my laundry and try to clean my apartment) and make a nice meal for myself and I was going to start watching America's Next Top Model, but just couldn't be bothered. Drunk skinny girls wander around cycle 7 is it? Meh.

It did snow once towards the end of the month and that made me exceedingly happy. EXCEEDLINGLY- got it?

And really that's November. Next up December!

BrandyShaw turns 30 part deux

And the adventure continues!

My intent while Brandy was here was to show her as much of the neat parts of the city as possible, and of course Much Music.... it is very funny but everyone from my childhood that has come to visit wants to see MuchMusic. I suppose because it was so influential on our lives, we of the "before you tube" generation. And I will admit to being pretty damn excited the first time I walked by it even after ten years of not really watching it I can still remember the address of where we could send our requests to.

Tangent aside, we covered a lot of ground during B's visit. We spent a day in Kensington market wandering about and getting lost and finding some really cool shops. Had to buy some injera to make our ethiopian feast one night and of course buy some crazy mexican delicious candies. I don't know what is in them but I suspect it is what flows in the rivers in heaven, it's that good. We spent part of a day in the Bathurst village where we checked out Honest Ed's and a mexican resty for wings, following that we walked down Roncesvalle village to peep into the edgy shops there. And Manic Coffee was a particular request of Brandy's, she knows the owner- having worked with him in Vancouver, he moved out here to set up shop and makes very delicious coffee. We had espresso shots. I'm not quite used to that anymore so it was like crack to me and I felt crazy for about an hour afterwards. Brandy gifted me with some Intelligensia which is direct trade coffee and delicious tasting.

We sort of checked out Chinatown, but being from Vancouver it's really not something new or exciting and frankly I think I enjoy the Victoria chinatown much more with it's FanTan Alley and bubble tea shop.

Saturday we hooked B up with a killer KILLER haircut and just sort of wandered around Bloor West Village OH and shoes! The cutest black flats that I have major envy of and picked up items for our ethiopian feast! Mmmmm feasts.

Our plan for that night was to head out to meet up with my friend Andrea and head out to the Drake Hotel for some drinks and maybe some dancing afterwards. Well we hit two out of three as we didn't really go dancing afterwards (sorry B!) but I think we had a great time hanging out at the Drake. We dressed up in our fanciest jeans and new things and managed to snag a perfect spot near the bar. The people watching was great, the drinks were delicious, albeit expensive and the boys were mostly cute. We managed to catch the subway home which is a bonus because riding the 300 night bus really isn't a Toronto experience Brandy needed.

The next day I woke up to my chagrin feeling coldy, I suspect my air mattress, and we just had a mellow day wandering around High Park and area taking photos. That night Brandy made pretty much the most awesome cornbread I have ever tastes and I made a pizza and it was just sort of a chill out evening of hanging out and reading. Brandy and I read a lot together. I think it's great to hang out with someone who understands the need to read as much as I do.

The next morning I was feeling much better for a long sleep and TA DAAAAAAAAAAAA Brandy Shaw is THIRTY!!! The weather was a bit mucky but after snacks we trucked off to East Toronto for some breakfast and to check out Little India and the East End. I showed her my favourite pashmina shop and we wandered down to Queen St East to take the streetcar back. I love taking the 501 streetcar as you get to see so much more of the city than you do riding the subway.

We got off downtown and had a peek at Nathan Phillips Square which was still water, looked around Eatons Centre and Dundas square and then headed home.

That night was quiet as B was packing up and preparing for departure. I know she was getting a bit homesick for her own apartment, and it took every inch of my being not to fling my arms around her legs and weigh her down so she had to stay forever. I do hope she had a good time and learned a bit about Toronto, I think it's a lot different than what people conceive it to be.

For myself I think it's a great city, very multicultural, safe and clean. Often I feel that I have to defend why I moved here, particularly to West Coasters (and yes I mean YOU dad) but the city offers so much more to me than I could find out there. Part culture, part proximity to so many other big cities, mostly just awesomeness.

And with that the next morning Brandy and I headed out to the airport where I dropped her off and headed to work. I was very sad to see her go, but she will be back! And I felt so lucky that she chose to spend a milestone in her life with me. Brandy and I have been friends since we were 6 and I sat behind her in Grade 2. And the past 24 years have been wicked so here's to the next 24!

Happy Thirtieth! Move to Toronto!!! Don't steal the tomatoes!

Loves
Michelle

Happy 30th BrandyShaws!

Ok- I've been terribly lax on my blogging and nothing shows it more than the first sentence... but I'm feeling mostly normal and not like a big ball of sleepy so I can continue on.

Aprox 17 days ago my best friend Brandy Shaw arrived at 2.39pm on a wednesday afternoon. Needless to say I was pretty giddy to see her. It had been just under a year since we last got to spend some time together and quite a while before that where we got to spend with just us and no other hanger-ons, boyfriends, etc.

I had a mild panic at the last second on the the ride out to Pearson that I had got the time wrong and she wasn't arriving that day or had arrived and was wandering terminal three aimlessly or that I would be sitting there for several hours. But after only say half an hour of waiting there she was! A vision! The west coast and my oldest friend here in Toronto!!

We made it back to my place without incident and spent a quiet evening in, ordered Indian from a very good place nearby that delivers (this is key...) and just generally got caught up. Although we pretty much talk everyday so we are on the up and up with each other but it's so nice to do it in person and be able to reach over and poke the person.

Brandy looks great, she is one of those people who radiates a sort of ethereal glow at all times. I know the has been experiencing the end of twenties quasi-meltdown we all go through but she has done it in a very calm and accepting way. *Well to my and the eyes of the world- she could be a mess underneath but it doesn't show. I felt giddy and calmed just being around her. It is so great to be with someone who gets pretty much every single obscure reference and silly joke you have ever thought of and then continues on with it and makes more.

We awoke the next morning (yes morning.... something I don't do generally if I don't have to- but special circumstances mean special waking up times.. that and I don't think I'd be allowed to sleep all day). And after a quick breakfast headed downtown for some shopping! It was a beautiful day here that day. The sky was so blue and it was WARM. Warmer than either of us had anticipated, we are both fall gals and love to pull on a nice cozy sweater, wrap ourselves in a big fluffy scarf (with matching hot bag of course) and set off. So while the sun "looked" nice, the heat wasn't super complimentary to our outfits....

We made our way to St. George and walked past the ROM and down Bloor a ways. Brandy is very talented and interested in the culinary arts, specifically baking, so I thought it my duty to introduce her to Williams Sonoma, THE fancy cookware shop. It was like my mum in a craft store or Florie in a fabric shop or me in a bookstore.. we sort of got lost in there for a while.
Then we hit Yorkville Winners, where I think we both could have happily spent all of our budget in a matter of half an hour. Showing a small modicum of restraint we both only made a couple of purchases and moved on.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful shopping wise, B wanted to have a look at H&M and the first store we went into was very hipster I'm 17 looking- not quite our style, but we hit the Eaton Centre H&M and it had some nicer grown up clothes that we tried on. Although this "new" style of the sort of 60s mod parachute dresses/shirts really don't work all that well on those who are advanced in the chesticular areas so we didn't purchase and moved on.

Most of our evenings were spent at home making a nice dinner and then just hanging out watching a movie or talking. That for me was the most wonderful part of her visit. It is not often I have a friend over in the evenings (and in typing that I can't even think of a time at all) where we just relax and do nothing.


The Adventures will continue in part 2....
We had many adventures out and about in the city and I think we covered a fair bit of ground. We made it to Kensington market, which I always love and I know Brandy did too, it's a funky part of town

Nuit Blanche and Autumnal Awesomeness

I haven't be upkeeping my blog as much as I ought to I suppose- I know this because my one faithful reader tells me so (hi mum!). Sooo here goes: there isn't too much to tell you really. I have been working a lot lately. I know it's good for me and all that malarky, but there is something in my genetic make up that balks at long hours of work. A friends mother once said to me "some people were born to work, but you have the body for leisure" and I tend to agree. However since leisure and pleasure all seem to be interdependent on an honest days work (damn protestant work ethic) I like to think of it as getting all that working in now so soon I can become a lady of leisure- my true calling in life.

So that pretty much sums up my working week, wake up, get dressed, go to work, come home, get undressed and go to sleep. Rinse and repeat. It is making me a bit grumpy and tired, but I think once I get used to it it will be ok. And on the upside of anger- I can't really spend any money!

Generally the weeks mean Saturday is a write off which saddens me a little as Saturday's are my most favourite day of the week. A day of complete and utter freedom the mania of Friday nights has settled down and the pervasive melancholy of a Sunday evening hasn't hit yet. It's all you and the world is your oyster. (although I'm not much of one for oysters and if the world was an oyster I would really not be that enthused or impressed but, irregardless- ya ya I KNOW it's not irregardless...) Yesterday's Saturday was spent in a quasi vegetative state I read some, FINALLY FINALLY taught myself how to cast on so I can start knitting some squares- those and scarves are my forte. I watched a few movies and tidied my house up. Things tend to get out of hand during the week. Another reason I am grateful for living on my own. If I had roommates they would be pissed off at my slovenly behaviour. But it's just me! And I can certainly be pissed off at myself but it's so much easier to justify and accept.

Last weekend was quite quite fun! And most likely the reason for my tired and grumpy behaviour this week. Apologies all round to those who have borne the brunt of it. Except for you who deserved it... you know who you are.

I progress on my digression... So last weekend was Nuit Blanche, which is en français for "white night" or "all nighter", this being an annual festival of contemporary art which is really quite neat. It is city wide from 7pm to 7am and generally very fabulous. I loved it, this is the reason why I love big cities, culture! Nevermind we didn't come up with the idea but "borrowed" it from Paris- who cares. What is contemporary art if not the borrowing and regeneration of ideas to sell as your own? That actually reminds me of a wonderful quote I read in high school "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal" ~T.S. Eliot.

A few friends of mine gathered at my place for some snacks and wine and coffee, we then headed out to our first stop Bay/Yorkville in Zone A. There are three zones in this event and I would just love to meet some people who managed to make it to all the big events in all the zones. There is so much, it was overwhelming a little bit. We were all keen to check out the one exhibit called Ghosts created by a woman from Cortez Island actually, located beneath the Bay subway- but the line was way too long. From my father I have inherited several things top among them are my dislike of waiting in long lines, getting very uptight about the thought of being late, and an obsession with clean carpets.

We stopped in a couple of galleries along the way and looked at some out door installations. On a night like Nuit Blanche it is so wonderful to see the city wrapped in art. You begin to look at everything in a different way, could this be an art installation? Is this art? It's sort of how I like to look at the world on an everyday basis. I believe everything is art and therefore wonderful. And I think on nights like NB, a person who doesn't look at life as art starts to open up to that possibility.

What I love most about contemporary art is the discourse of the artist. Particularly installation art- it is about the artists conception of reality in that fleeting moment. It isn't about their mastery of colour or their years of learning, it is about inviting you into their private thoughts.

On top of all the art there are the people, it was so wild to see thousands of people roaming the streets until the wee hours of the morning. And even better to be part of it. Some people were dressed up beyond measure for the evening. Mostly in Yorkville, where you can note that even the litter is pretentious (starbucks cups lined any surface). Our crew was a little smarter than that all wearing sensible shoes and warm clothing although there wasn't much of a need for the warm clothing. The weather was very mild and only started to get a little chilly as we made our way back to Bloor St to catch the night bus home.

My friend Bhavna stayed over and we made it home by about 6am, we were a bit too giddy to sleep so ended up chatting until it was very light out.

(Picture of ET/Yoda installation, I think my favourite)

So that was that weekend, the Sunday I met up with a friend and walked around until I made it home and lapsed into a tiredness coma.

The weather is changing here now that is is really fall, although it hasn't cooled yet. This week was really warm and I'm enjoying the last vestiges of summer, although I have unpacked my winter wear and would really like to start wearing my sweaters!!

In other LARGER news, my friend BrandyShaw is coming to visit in just THREE SLEEPS. I am soooo soooo beyond giddy! She is coming to Tdot for her thirtieth birthday and we are going to have so much fun exploring the city and hanging out and such. I've got plans and they are big and exciting!

There you have it, a blog update. As requested by mother.... who will always be my adoring fan and I hers. If I suck up enough they might even bring me back pressies from Mexico, I like silver! Just kidding... the best present I could get is if they came back here to visit. Especially my dad. I really miss my dad. But getting him on a plane to head somewhere that isn't tropical is going to be damn hard. Hurry up global warming already...

Ok so it's almost 4 and I haven't left the house or my pjs. And the really big question is do I?

TTFN.

It seems to be falling

Well here it is September and I can tell by the change in light in the evenings that fall is just around the corner. I'm quite keen to experience a fall out here, I've heard how beautiful it can be. Plus just the fact that there are real season's is so novel to me, I'm quite giddy.

It's been a month since the last post and some has happened. August seemed to go by quite quickly. I've been posted to a new shift at work which is both good and bad. It's monday to friday so I can continue to be a weekend warrior, which makes me happy. Although I am now working afternoon evenings which is taking some time to get used to. I'm a morning person and I find myself up too late most nights as I just can't get home at midnight and go straight to sleep. This does make communication with my west coast friends a little easier, and I seem to also be able to chat with my friends in Australia during their work day which is great! I find myself sleeping in too much and then sitting about the house in my pjs attached to the computer waiting to go to work.

On days where I'm actually up at a reasonable hour it is lovely to have the morning spent in solitude and contemplation. I love taking my first cup of coffee and sitting in my back yard, alternating between reading my book, staring up at the sky and trees, and watching the local squirrels and birds run around.

I'm also getting out and exploring my neighbourhood more, walking here and there- taking some interesting photos.

Earlier in the month I went out for breakfast with my friend J, we went to the Montreal Deli- or something similar- on Bathurst where I was able to have a Benny! Finally, it has been MONTHS, far too long really. I only received mild looks when I asked for no eggs and it was served with large slices of montreal smoked meat and a side of fruit and some tasty hash browns. It was a warm day so we sat on the patio. I miss breakfast out. Heading down and grabbing some ultra cheapies at Bond's on Broadway. Goood times when in Van, and I have yet to find a Benny that will surpass the chicken sausage with asparagus at John's Place in Vic.

Later in the month the Women's International America's cricket tournament was on so I made the journey up to see former teammates and friends play a game. And what a journey... it was up in King City which is quite north of the city. In the 12 000 block of Yonge St and no that is not a typo. A friend of mine from school and I once drove to Nobleton which is about 40 minutes north of North Etobicoke where the school is. We thought that was hell and gone, but King City is even farther north!

Once I got there, the weather was uncooperative, windy, gray and rainy. But the cricket was great. Everyone looked wonderful out on the field and they have come such a long way as a team and in their abilities. That was the only game I was able to watch, but I did find out Canada won the GOLD this year!

The day after that I headed out to Ottawa to spend a week with my good friend Florie and her daughter Serena. Rob was away in Quebec City for the week so I headed out to lend a hand, see their home and relax.

Although the weather wasn't so hot (ok it was hot and humid) but not sunny and poolly as I had hoped, we had a wonderful time. Florie is an amazing person and she is raising such a beautiful happy little girl. Serena is teething so at times she was a bit grumpy but on the whole so much fun and so smiley and laughs a lot. I was happy I was able to make her laugh a few times. Once she fell asleep on my shoulder, for anyone with insomnia you should try this, once she fell asleep I felt like I had swallowed about 4 bottles of nyquil, it was nap time all round in that house.

Babies radiate such a wonderful energy and it must be so fascinating to be a parent and see the changes that happen. The last time I saw Serena was at the end of May and she seems much more aware of her environment now, looking about with her large blue eyes taking it all in.

It was a wonderful week's visit and just what I needed to recharge my batteries and head back into the city with a spring in my step. Although sad to leave Florie, Serena, and a bed on the "second" floor!, I was happy to be heading back into the city. I'm definitely not a suburbs kind of person. I love the city, the smells, the sights, the anonymity. Just seeing the sign saying welcome to toronto population 2.5 million made me pretty excited.

So that was August! I hope the good weather continues for a while longer! I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to summer.

Highlights this month are the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), I'm hoping to catch a few films in the mornings if I can get out of bed! Plus only a mere month until BrandyShaw comes to visit. I am beyond giddy, about three light years beyond and we are going to have so much fun!

People are strange

When your a stranger. It's been a bit of an odd week (ha and it's only Monday!) well last week was quite busy, I met several new people last week. I hope to spend more time with them and do some fun summery things.

Recently I went to the bluffs out in Scarborough, they were really pretty and it was a bit like being at Mount Doug Beach with the cliffs and there was a marina where we watched boats. Terribly nice just to be out and about really. I had wanted to go to the bluffs since I had bought my Lonely Planet way back in November. I guess Scarborough has a shady reputation, but I'm flying blind so it seemed like a nice enough place to me. Although I'm not quite sure why one wouldn't just want to live in Toronto proper, but then I guess everyone can't.... ponderous.

I don't have a snappy title for this post

Nor do I have particularly snappy content, so bear with me. It is, it would seem, the dogs days of summer. It's pretty ridiculously hot, more so now that I am moonlighting (can I be moonlighting if this is my full time job?) in a restaurant wearing of course heavy jeans and such. I drink a lot of water.

It looks that I will be working at 3 until close, in this respect it is good that I have a minimal social life as these hours do not lend themselves well to "normal" social outings. I should be getting two days off in a row though, major bonus in the service industry. Second only to the manna of all shifts- monday to friday days!

Today is Yellow

It's also August first. I quite like the first of months. I try to remember to say white rabbits before saying anything else in the morning or before talking to anyone. But given my lifestyle that's pretty easy at the moment.

Life has been pretty super lately. I have had two friends recommend to me that I watch/read "The Secret" all about the laws of attraction. Well after finding out the book has about 1200 holds on it at the library I decided on the movie option. I ended up watching it although it had no sound and was subtitled. It's quite uplifting and great in general. I have heard of lots of the theories before, however it's good to have a refresher.

On that note, I've been in a great mood lately. I have also decided that I'm going to pick a different colour everyday and notice it as much as possible. Today, as the title implies was yellow- which is one of my more favourite colours to begin with. It makes me happy just thinking about the colour yellow.

I recently rearranged my room and I think this new set up is going to work much better for me. Yessss much bettah! I can now see out the window from my: desk, chair and bed. In the mornings actually it's quite lovely because I can see the sun on the tree leaves and the added bonus of feeling the breeze from the window.

It's darn hot right now, hotter than a snakes ass in a wagon rut. And if it's hot for me down in my basement it is HAWT.

I also purchased a plant tonight! His name is Albert and he's a peace lily. Yes, I name AND talk to my plants- (one small step to crazy cat woman, I know). I have a peace lily that is staying with my parents right now, that one is about ten years old. I have a cactus at my parents that I have had since high school(which is terrifyingly over ten years). I really miss my plants actually. I think I must be putting down roots (ha- figuratively if not literally) by buying some plants here in Toronto. Living in a plant free existence is just not me.

Really I have nothing for you, my admiring public (hi mum!). I'm just warm and bored and don't quite want to go to sleep.

And reality sets in

Which is really on the whole quite tragic. But after my big trip to New York I suppose it was an eventuality that I would have to come back to land again. And it was off and running. I got back and had plenty of schoolwork to keep me very occupied. I also realized that my life as a gad about student was coming to an end and it was time to *gasp* get a job.

So in the month and a bit I've been back, I've actually been quite busy. I'm working a couple of jobs now and also trying hard to finish up school like a good girl. I also realized that for the past few months I haven't been concentrating myself on Toronto, thoughts and feelings have been elsewhere.

Well it is here that I am so, here I will be. I actually really like Toronto, I find it pretty and friendly and there is so much to do. There is no waking up in the middle of the night all panicky- points for Toronto!


My friend Andrea and her boyfriend Alex had me over for dinner one Saturday night after my return. It was a lovely, fun evening! Alex made the most delicious crepes I have ever eaten- both savoury and sweet! They are just off to France for a couple of weeks! I'm envious!!

The other night I did something wonderfully big city, I went grocery shopping after midnight. It was so much fun and much less busy- although still quite a few people in there! I had also had a really nice chat with my bus driver the night I came home from Andrea and Alex's and who do I get on my trip home from the store but the same one. I thought he looked super familiar but it wasn't until he made a comment about BC that I realized he was the same driver. See, nice city.

Really other than that not much is going on although it is busy. I'm looking forward to August here, I am hoping to make it out to Ottawa and play with Florie and Serena for a couple of days while Rob is away. I need to get back out there taking some photos, but lately life has just been going to school then to work then to school and then to bed!

Ok so now your caught up! I'll sit on the bus trying to think fancy things to write here for next time.

I like New York in June... how about you

Yes I know "some" people prefer Paris in the Springtime, but honestly New York is where it's at. I arrived after some delays getting of the ground in Toronto, always the worst when you just want to be GONE! I then made my way to Queens for the evening and had a lovely time.

Thursday morning, the last day of my twenties! I woke up early and had a leisurely morning with coffee and croissanty type food before heading back into Manhattan. I was fortunate when I arrived at our hotel to be allowed to check in although it was only 11.30am. So I was able to relax a little bit, but of course I'm a block from Times Square- who can relax?!!! I took myself off for a walk down 5th ave and a bit of a wander through the park. On my way back up I ducked into MoMa (the Museum of Modern Art) oh my gosh! I am in LOVE. The art there was amazing. Finally I had to concede to my bodies request for rest, I didn't sleep well the night before. So I made my way back to the hotel, found some food and had another luxury- a bath. Then I ended up watching American television and waiting for everyone to arrive. Of course, I got antsy and went out for a wander around Times Square at dusk. NEAT.

Everyone arrived in due course and we stayed up late catching up. The next morning we hit the streets and up the Empire State Building first thing. Now I'm generally not one for tall buildings, I wasn't impressed by going up the Eiffel Tower, I feel the CN building is pointless, but this was amazing. AND an excellent way to situate ourselves in the city. After that we walked down to the river and took a boat tour around half of Manhattan. The day was pretty hot so we were glad to get on the water and the views were amazing.

It was a race back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, first it was drinks at the Bubble Lounge in SoHo, champagne mmmmmmm. Then we were able to walk to dinner with only getting slightly lost. Dinner was at this funky Moroccan restaurant Cafe Noir, food and drink was plentiful. I was proposed to by some random fellow, obviously a complete scam artist, but hey it was nice to receive a proposal from someone who seemed to possess all of his own teeth and wasn't in line to start receiving his pension within the next year.

After that we taxi'd to Greenwich Village for a "bucket of beers" and a bit of a wander. Finally I had to plea tiredness and it turned out it was about 2am anyway!

Saturday was fun, we went to Central Park for a nice lunch (since we woke up a bit late) that we had grabbed at one of the awesome deli's and then walked up to the Guggenheim. I was so excited, Frank Lloyd Wright is a favourite architect of mine, however due to some structural problems (which I now hear are endemic in his buildings) the whole front of the Guggenheim was covered in scaffolding. Slightly disappointing. The interior was still really wonderful, although they were setting up a new installation in many of the galleries so they were cordoned off. The building is so tactile, there are hardly any square edges you just want to reach out and touch everything.

After that we headed to McSorley's which is a pub a la Big Bad Johns, but no bras, sawdust instead of peanuts and only two drinks. Light or dark beer which are served in two mini mugs. Deceiving. The fun part is they seat you with random people so we met some very nice individuals at our table. One suggested some betting on horse races and I surprised myself by deciding to do it. (I don't bet, because I don't win...) But! I got horse number 7, Rags to Riches, and I WON!!! I was shocked to say the very least!

Still I'm pretty sure it's a one off, so I don't think I'm hooked. Although it was pretty fun, I'd go to the horse races, but only if it meant I could wear a fancy hat.

Sunday was a bit of a day, the city that never sleeps was defeating us, we were tired and there was still so much to do!

After breakfast and check out we were going to walk down fifth to the Metropolitan Museum of Art- well. We get there and guess what! It's National Peurto Rico Day, there are a million people on fifth ave and we aren't going anywhere fast. Generally I hate parades, I just do not see the point, I hate standing around at the best of times.

We decided to head down into the park and then cross at 89th where the museum is located, well we get into the park and promptly get slightly lost... we make our way out only to find we've managed to go backwards a little bit. MAYHEM!

Anyway, we make it to the museum finally! Meet up with everyone, finally!

All in all it was a great trip and a thirtieth birthday I won't forget! Big Thanks to those who came to celebrate with me! - Chelsea, Laura, Robert and Valerie. And thank you to all those who couldn't make it but sent along your wishes. And of course thanks to my mum and dad for providing the genetic blueprint and for putting up with their wayward daughter as she fumbles through life. I'll get there, promise!
A sculpture by Brancusi. It is one of my favourites I was delighted to see it in MoMa

Me and Me Mum

Mid May my mother came to visit! It was very exciting as I've had a lot of visitors since I've moved out here but no family yet.

Fortunately the flight was on time although the luggage took forever, and so irritating that you can't go and wait with the people. We got home about 9 or 10 and got some hamburgers from the local grillways!

The next day we had an exciting spa day and pampering, it was really fun to get hands and feet all prettied up. Then we went home and had a relaxing night and watched a movie. It was also my parent's anniversary that day which is pretty neat, they've been married for over thirty years now that's a long time.

On the Saturday we went and checked out Kensington Market and walked all around there looking into the shops and checking out the cheese! I took mum out for Vietnamese for her first time, it was delicious!

Sadly I started to feel like I was getting a cold that day so we didn't do hardly anything at night and the next day I was definitely getting worse, but we managed a trip down to little India and bought a nice pashmina. Mine is blue! We also went to Greektown for some tasty food and then back to bed for me.

Mum went to Belleville the next day and I went back to bed. She came back for a night before she was to catch her flight back. We went to Dr. Generousity for a tapas style dinner.

I had so much fun when she was here I wish that I could have shown her more stuff, I've been checking things out more and more and there are so many neat places that I would love to take her. I guess that's all for next time.

It's Been A While

Well it's certainly been a while since my last post. Well over a month! Sorry my adoring public (read: mum & dad). But it's also been a busy month!


(this is the last picture of me in my twenties- finally it is done)

So let's see what has indeed happened since May. Well gosh, who can remember now?

Well:
My mum visted
I turned thirty in New York City
Back to school and reality

I'll cover all these in individual posts since this way I can procrastinate even longer.

Home again Home again

And so that concludes my one week adventure stateside... Back to school now. It looks intense as it always is with summer programs. But we found out today that we're getting Thursday's off so that is pretty awesome.

My first week back has been a bit hectic. I arrived back in Toronto on Monday morning about 6am. It was really interesting driving into the city as the sun came up. It seems so small compared to New York, and I have to admit the CN Tower did look very impressive with the dawn gleaming off of it.

If school started any earlier I would have made it on Monday, but my body shut down at 8am and that was me done. Tuesday I was really grumpy and irritable (thanks to those who put up with me!) and realised that I was just still very very tired.

Today is Thursday, I feel pretty damn perky about my situation. This week I got a letter from my brother! Thanks Don!!! My mum is coming to visit in exactly one week- at this time I'll be en route to the airport.

It looks like I'll have one awesome class this semester, The History of Architecture- Aces!!! The textbook looks awesome but it's over $100 and I think I learned my lesson the first Art History Degree... watch out for the shiny textbooks!

Hope I'll be hearing from y'all soon (hey I was in the US for a week, I had to have picked up something!!).
Hugs
This is me on the deck of the "landing" a restaurant in New Hope- it was really nice! I heart vacation (and my new shoes- yep I was wearing them!)

I heart New York

Tuesday of my holiday I went into New York City to meet up with Terrance. I have to say New York is pretty freaking awesome. I didn't have much time there so I just walked around Times Square (not so squarish- in your European town square sense), Madison Ave, Park Ave, Broadway.

And I bought shoes on Madison Ave!!! I'm not sure it get any better than this?! And they are perfect, exactly what I wanted. I leeeerv them. (I know it's weird to be this attached to your shoes, but hey I don't have a pet or a husband)

The City is just so amazing, I felt really safe all the time- and the people watching is out of this world. I cannot wait to go back to celebrate my thirtieth in June. I'm positively giddy actually. Chelsea and Laura are flying out from Victoria to meet up with me and Robert and Valerie will be coming in too. It should be great, I heard about this champagne bar "Bubbles" which I'll have to check out in honour of my friend Briana who turns thirty the week before me- (always older but never wiser... ;-> ).

The day after New York Valerie and I headed out to check out Philadelphia. It's pretty neat, I love all the public art work around these big cities. At this one building they had giant monopoly pieces all around. Although I couldn't find the shoe or the iron (the ones I usually was- que'lle surprise- I know).

The rest of the week was pretty mellow, which was so wonderful and what I needed. I did get to go into a Macy's and drool over the many many many nice things- I did shop in the Old Navy- yep it's more ghetto but hey I'm po. Best find were a really nice soft cream sweater with snaps and a hood for $3.97 and underwears with Tucans saying I love you to each other. Because if your underwear can't be ridiculous- what have you got??

SHADFest 2007- it's effical and fresh yo!

Hello from stateside!!

Well school is finally done and I managed to pass all my classes! Surprisingly math was one of my higher marks, beating out even english. Weird I know. I don't quite get it either.

Right now I am in Pennsylvania staying with Valerie and Robert who have quite graciously allowed me to come down for the week between classes. Getting here was slightly mammoth, I haven't been on an overnight bus for quite some time.

It's been a great mix of action packed adventure and relaxation this week thus far. Saturday was slightly zombieish although we did managed to head to New Hope and check out SHADFEST!!!!! That's right once a year these fish called Shad do something very very special and New Hope and Lumberville get down and PAR-TAY. I dont' know what the fish do but it's got to be pretty damn special.

Sunday was nice and mellow as well- we were all pretty tired, but Val and Rob bought a BBQ so we were able to have a stinking awesome dinner that night.

This is a post-holidaium post so I'll break it up/break it down into parts.

Examine yourself....

Well it's been quite some time since I last posted- nothing like another bout of exams to make me do all the things I have been putting off.

Thursday was my last day of classes! Hurrah, one semester down! It also coincided with a visit from my friend Pili, whom I met in Victoria but now resides in Sydney, Australia working in high finance. She's fancy! We had a great evening Thursday, we chatted with our LeMar via web cam, and then went out for yummy pasta dinner, with wine... Friday we got off to a lazy start and headed out to our church- and by church I do mean the Bata Shoe Museum. It was pretty neat and they had this great Rococco exhibit on. I am developing quite the penchant for yellow silk hmmm.

Afterwards we lunched at Pho Hung and went for a wander around China town and Kensington Market- the market is really great. I had been there once before in January, but now that the weather is warmer and all the shops have half moved to the streets it's much more fun. We even stopped and watched hippies play on their drums and some smellies dancing in the street- made me think of Victoria... and then we walked quickly away.

There are some amazing food shops in the area and Pili bought almost ten dollars worth of Mexican candy...!

And really that was that! It was a very fun day, I miss having girlfriends about where we can wander the shops and look at things and such.

The previous week and weekend was full of schooling and Terrance visiting, that was really great fun. (ha well the visiting part, school... not so much). But I got all my presentations done and did well on them so yay. I have am now learning to work with PowerPoint, it's kind of fun. And I'd always take a presentation over a paper- hands down any day of the week. Now if only we could do presentations instead of exams. That would be tops!

For Easter weekend I went out to Belleville to hang out with my grandma and my uncle. That was really nice, I took the slow bus out there and actually it was really beautiful driving through all the boonies at about sunset. My uncle made the most amazing turkey dinner on Saturday night, it was awesome and so nice to eat a dinner that was made by family again. Hopefully when my mum comes to visit she'll make me dinner (wink wink, nudge nudge). Due to the weekend and the very strange hours of the bus service I didn't get to spend as much time there as I wanted to. And while I was there it snowed- an Easter miracle!!!

But I do think that Spring has sprung; yesterday I didn't even wear a sweater downtown, never mind a jacket and mitts! The sun is shining and at 11am it is already a terrific 17degrees. Today is devoted to studying as soon as I get it a bit more together. And happily it will be studying outside in the sunshine!

This week is full of exams- three on Monday whooo hoooo and finishing up assignments by Friday. I hope to be hopping on a bus and heading down to Pennsylvania to visit Val and Rob for the week that I am off and heading into NYC as well for maybe a day or something. This time I hope to check out Philly and well just hang out in general. Val and Robert have quite the personal gym going on in their house and Val and I are going to do some working out. Maybe go for a couple of runs. I am looking forward to going for runs in High Park once it's all bloomy and parky.

So I suppose that is all for now- I could go on... but really should study.

I got a pressssssent!

Yeah- I gots me a coool new sweater! My mum made it, she's the best and you are allll jealous I know it! I was really grumpy today and then I came home to this pressie! I believe my luck changed cause I picked up a pennie. (man that was a lot of exclamation points!)

Things are going well here at the centre of the world. Had a very nice weekend, friend was visiting from out of town and that was lovely. Had to work like a dog to get this massive drafting project done. But I got it done and handed in Friday morning- whew. So the weekend was free and clear for good times.

It was sunny today! Huroooo apparently it's going to be in the late teens on Thursday so take that West Coast!!! Hopefully it will be sunny and then I will call all of you at 8am (EST-natch) and let you know how awesome it is here. Maybe I'll wear my flipflops...

Really not much else has been going on. After all the wonderful excitement of last weekend it's good to get back into a routine. School is staring to heat up a bit.

Huh- well there was a slight delay in posting the past post- as it's now the weekend again. Sunday to be exact. Actually even worse it's sunday evening and I have a test tomorrow. So I have been studying and cleaning and taking some very odd photos when I can't handle the studying or the cleaning anymore.

Yet another project due this week- will be doing that for the rest of the evening and tomorrow and tomorrow night and tues morning!

Right going to actually post this as opposed to resaving draft in manner of many of my emails.

Hugs
M

Breakfast At Mitzi's

This past weekend my friend Jen was in town from Montreal. It was so great to see her (and the added bonus of having a house guest is the house gets cleaned) and hang out. We met up Saturday afternoon downtown and walked around and looked at the various porn available to us on Bloor St. There was diamond porn- Tiffany's, yoga porn- Lululemon, shoe porn (my fave!)- Nine West, way too fancy porn- Chanel, kitchen porn- Williams-Sonoma. It was delightful... After that we dined at a pub near the school of Music with a bunch of the opera peoples. It was fun, but those singing types certainly know how to project their voices.

Jen and I headed home and chatted for bit before bed. Had a bit of a lazy Sunday morning and then met up with her friends Kristen and Ashley for brunch at Mitzi's. This is definitely the best brunch I have had here. AND I had the scrambled eggs... I know I know. I was as shocked as you all. AND the even weirder thing was I then wanted the pancake. But it's a great little spot in Roncensvales, tiny kind of reminded me of Cup of Joes. Still have not had a good benny here though.

After brunch Jen and I window shopped and such along the village. Big news! I bought my first purse in Toronto. And yes- it is a big deal! It's a matt and natt gray clutch- so cute! Jen took off in the afternoon and I came back to get it together for school today.

Hmm well I could make this post much more exciting but I am slightly distracted and I really have to get prepped for tomorrow. So I'll say adieu. The pics are of Jen(short brown hair) & Ashley and Kirsten & me.

Holy Snapping Ars*holes

Title courtesy of Brandy Shaw's mum- Marcy. Don't really know what it means but it gets the point across. And that point is- IT'S COLD. Today when I left I checked my widgets (which is a fancy mac thing and I pity all your who don't know what it is) and it was -21. This does not factor in the windchill or anything!

I had to go to a copy centre before class and it was about a ten minute walk from the bus stop- wheee! The only way I can explain the cold when you breath in is that if tastes like you have just swallowed a bunch of sea water and makes you want to throw up just as much. But it's sunny! Hard to feel bad when it's sunny. I am actually generally terribly giddy.

Whee well I have gotten the marks back from one midterm and one assignment. In my math midterm I got 70%! Which may not seem like much but I say it's beyond respectable. Considering the agony that I (and my family) had to go through the first time I did Math 12- this is much less painless. Probably the only time my parents are happy to be very far away from me. So I think this may be fridge worthy! (Yes I am a nerd and put my grades on the fridge- so- you wanna fight about it?)

I also got my first drafting assignment back and I got 96%!! Wheee. Very excited about that because I didn't think I did as well as I could have. (and yes dad next time I'll get 100- don't worry!) I really want to put this one on the fridge but it's too big. Oh well.

Ok small rant. I was on the bus on the way home from school and had to sit between two people, fine- at least I get to sit! However one of the people beside me is sitting there with her legs wide open essentially taking up as much space as possible. Now I am not sure if she has a chip on her shoulder for the way bigger people are treated in the world and decided to take a stand (or sit) right there and then on the bus. I myself am bigger than "normal" and generally find it appalling the way people are treated on the basis of there size. (however that's a different rant for a different day) But to do this on a very full bus is just rude. I don't care what your size is- crowded public transit is all about making yourself smaller so everyone can fit. Finally about 3/4 of the way through the ride she got a clue-maybe she felt the resentment wafting off of me. And that was that.

Thanks! Other than that I am very positive! Happy and giddy. I also made a a friend at school. And nope, she is neither married and I suspect she does not own a cottage at the lake. But she's super nice, in one of my classes, but ahead of me in the program, although younger than me in years. Anyhoo that was exciting, we had lunch on Monday and are doing a group project together so hopefully we'll hang out.

Welll, I have to make dinner. Have not yet figured out how to get someone to do that for me as I am living on my own. Oh Valerie and Robert are probably in Mexico as we speak. Lucky lucky devils!

Another Saturday Night...

I just finished reading Alice Munro's "Lives of Girls and Women". It took me a while to get into the story, but I did like it. I like her writing style, at once subjective and removed from the situation. Gosh how much more Canadian can I get-eh?? Been up the Tour de CN, Niagara Falls, experienced a blizzard. They certainly can't revoke my card now just because I speak French poorly. Can they?

The first week back after reading break has passed, Tuesday classes were cancelled I am assuming due to snow, however I managed to get up there... there were two midterms and two more to come this week. Fortunately the Math midterm has come and gone. Pretty sure I passed, but beyond that I refuse to comment.

Today I bought a luxury item... a rain shower head. I think I am in looove. It's so nice, I could probably spend more time in the shower. I don't have a bathtub in my apartment, which is the only bad thing I can say about it. Some nights I just long to lie in a scalding tub and read my book. It's a tragedy of the modern era. When I can design houses I am going to have the most fantastical delicious bathrooms EVER.

Next weekend my friend Jen is coming up from Montreal to stay with me on Saturday night. I quite keen to see her, it's been a while. We used to work together in the pub at UVIC, dedicating nights cooking where we would only speak German- much to the dismay of everyone us well, except Jan the server who was from Germany.

Have been studying today, so my house is very clean. I awoke early on Friday morning for a glass of water to find my kitchen slightly submerged... too much snow build up we think. It's all sorted now and there was no real damage done. But an exciting way to start the day nonetheless.

Really that's all I've got. I could continue on expounding on something or other. But I am sure that would bore the two of you to tears (yes I know who you are). Roger yo- peace out!

ChickenPants & MonkeyNuts- together again

I'll let you figure out who is who... Saturday Claire came over to my place for a visit while before she headed back to Vic- it was super terrific to see her and hang out in the neighbourhood. Also nice to have a person to sit in my place and have a cup of coffee (or two) with.

Saw my friend from Uni, Jen, on Saturday night at the Local for a couple of pints. So it's been a very fun week seeing lots of people. All the more to get me through the next few grueling weeks- it's mid-term time! Woot! Had one today, there is one on Wednesday (math-ugh), one on Thursday.

Got my AutoCad- test results, not as good as i would have liked, which is crappy because I had to redo the test and I am pretty sure I did better the first time as I wasn't rushing off to sit around an airport... Got an English assignment back with a high mark-whew- I was slightly nervous I had forgotten everything basic and could only postulate on the subtext of the new film-noir genre as according to Lacan (or something equally ridiculous).

Today in the mail I got money! From the school- I have absolutely no idea what for, but I'll take it!!! Better than a bill that's for sure!

So reading break is over, I made it to school this morning- early even. Quite the shock to a system that didn't quite make it out of bed before 10am on any given day last week. I love being a student. Love. It.

Other than that not too much else going down. Studying a lot this week. Melissa and Vince leave on Wednesday, but I have to stick my head in the books, so I don't think I'll get to see them again. So wonderful to have them here though! They are such a good match for each other- makes me all ferchlemmped.

Right back to the dishes, I will seriously give anyone that comes here to do my dishes a shiny nickel. Believe me it would be a good nickel. I don't hand out lame nickels... Anybody? Anybody?

Ich bin gefallen

The topic of this post is falling... It's strange the connotations the word falling can take. One can fall physically, emotionally, spiritually. And does one have to fall, to be able to arise to greater heights than before? I think we have all be down before, but it does help us recognize the highs. Hmmm deep thoughts. Nothing like a road trip to bring out deep thoughts.


Right this picture is a picture of a picture that I took on my camera, the cord is in PA.... But me at the falls....

Yesterday Melissa, Vince, Vince's sister Jennifer and I made our way out to Niagara Falls. It's been a momentous week on the Canadian Landmark for us- first speakers corner(!), then the CN Tower and now the Falls. I have to say, this was my favourite. The CN Tower was ok, but I am always continually more in awe of what Nature can do as opposed to people. (Kenneth Clark would be appalled).

The falls were breathtaking, even with half of them frozen over, almost more so, I found a real sense of movement in the layers of ice. A snapshot of one moment. We went to the "Journey Behind the Falls" which is where you walk to some viewing platforms about 2/3 of the way down the falls. One was totally iced over, but the other you could see the water coming down.

After viewing that we took the scenic drive to Niagara on the Lake. Stopping at a winery on the way to sample their wares. I bought jam! (apricot mmmm) Niagara on the lake is about half an hour away and such a beautiful little town. Niagara Falls is super tacky which I guess is understandable. But this town is lovely, it's obviously trying to be a bit quaint but it works for them and they aren't being pushy about it.

We had dinner at the Olde Angel Inn, our second choice but it was the right one! As soon as we walked in I loved it. It's a nice proper English style pub with real fireplaces, lots of wood, a fine selection of ales- served at the right temperature. Just really cozy. It's been in business since 1792, burned down once in 1812 and going ever since. Really a good pub should not be anywhere under 100 years old. But I won't go into a rant about the problems with North American pubs- not today anyway.
Right-on topic- dinner was good and then we headed back to the city. I love road tripping with Melissa, I feel no shame in screeching out the lyrics to You Give Love A Bad Name in front of her, since I know she is doing the same.

Well I was back home by 9pm which was great and then Kundun was on TV. Oooh I love that movie, it's so beautifully shot and poignant. All the reds and yellows of the Tibetan Monks.. (and we know red and yellow= orange!) I like the idea of the Tibetan Sky Ceremony for the dead. It's where your body is cut up and fed to vultures on the top of a mountain. I don't know why I like it, seems more freeing that laying somewhere.

AND BIG NEWS!!! I woke this morning to an email saying that Rob and Florie are now proud parents to Serena Dulcie Waller. So I think that they have also fallen! I have seen two pictures of her and I admit I am already pretty smitten.

Well that's about it on the adventure so far. I think it's going to be a mindful day. Pondering on falling, but hopefully not doing any actual physical falling. I consider a day seized if I don't fall over at some point or bang my elbow on something.

Ridiculousness Part B- Say Whatcha Like!

Well this week is reading week. And I have been getting some studying done which is good. Kind of hard to get out of my PJs however. Glad I have an extensive collection!

My friends Melissa and Vince arrived from Calgary on Tuesday evening and I met up with them yesterday afternoon downtown. We went for some yum Vietnamese and the headed over to Much Music, as it was Melissa's request. And of course, she talked me in to going on Speakers Corner. Gosh I hope none of you ever see me on TV! Not that we had much to say, mostly just laughing like idiots. But hey, you have to fulfill those childhood dreams!

We went up the CN Tower, which I suppose is quite patriotic- but I dunno.... It's a tall building, it's like looking out of an airplane. Anyway- now that I have done it I feel no compulsion to ever do it again. So there.

Today we met up again for some lunch in the neighbourhood- where I found a pub that serves burgers with peanut butter on them. I think my dad would love it. I couldn't bring myself to try it. Peanut butter belongs on toast, or celery sticks- that's it. (and really when you get down to it- bread is just toast waiting to happen)

My friend from Victoria, Claire was flying in this evening and I met her at the airport. We went to her hotel room and room serviced and went in the pool, it was very fun! But this is my second night of getting in past midnight. I am certainly not cut out for this sort of thing anymore.

Tomorrow Melissa, Vince, possibly his sister, and I will be maybe heading out to Niagara Falls which would be great to see. However it will be after sleeping in!

And that is about it thus far. Schooling is going well- midterms are coming up. Boo. But I suppose it's inevitable. So Michelle Out...

Ridiculousness Part A- High Flying Hijinxes

Gosh it's been a while since my last post. So much has happened! I went down to Pennsylvania to visit my friends Valerie and Robert on the 8th. The trip down was mammoth. I could have flown home for the amount of time it took... but still it was a great flight!

We finally got back to Val and Rob's at about 2.30 and had a midnight dinner with champers! Yumm... Val and I stayed up ridiculously late catching up! We had so much fun while I was down. I love it there, they live near New Hope, which is this pretty little town on the Delaware river. It reminded me a lot of where I used to live in England, all these big estates and small country roads.

Friday night we went to their local which is a pub that is at least 300 years old. Now that is what I call a pub... Saturday we just sort of bummed about and watched The Ring that night, kind of spooky. Sunday we went to Princeton and walked around the Uni there. It's really beautiful and a very nice town.

Monday was also mammoth coming home. We checked my flight on Sunday night only to find it didn't exist- found out that I had been put on a different flight which left a bit later. That was fine, when I got to the air port they had (of course) over booked the flight and I was asked to be routed via Montreal.

They offered me a voucher for my trouble so I took it! That will hopefully cover my flight down to New York in the spring! And as another bonus I was upgraded to 1st class on the way from Montreal to TO. Hot towels and everything....

It was so much fun to see Val and Rob and they were so hospitable and nice to me. Great to see where they are calling home these days (lucky lucky!) and to see that they are so happy and in love.

Back home it was back to school for a few days. Hard to get back into the swing of things after vacationing I tell you.

Alas I left my camera cord in PA so I can't upload any new pics- boo.

Ok onto the next post...

It's a Super Super-Bowl Sunday

Wooot! Go Colts! I watched the game by myself this evening but it was all good times. Although I have to say that Canadian commercial are TERRIBLE..... I mean where were the awesome K-Fed commercials? Who cares about Howie Mandell? Or cars? Blech, but that was the only low light. It was a great game and the Colts definitely out played the bears. And I hear they flew everyone that works in the Colt's stadium down for the game. Everyone! I mean this team deserves to win.

I Fought a Chair....

And I WON (high five!)

Today I was able to get the final accoutrement for my abode. A reading chair. I found it on Craigslist- if anyone doesn't know what Craigslist is- get thee to the interweb. It is the BEST website on the net. Seriously. You can find everything on there, and I mean everyting you know?

On with the tale. So I found the chair on there and also found a person who would pick me up at the place the chair was living and drive me and it back to my place. The one thing I really didn't think through was the fact that the chair is wide and the entrance to my place is not.

A) It wouldn't fit down the side of the building to my door- ok I took it around through a neighbour's back yard (shhh don't tell them) and threw it into our backyard. That done I tried to get it into my place through the back door.

B) It wouldn't fit through the back door- ok so it fits down the alley to my door from this way. Then it was about 25 minutes trying to get it in through the door. I finally FINALLY was able to get it in through the door.

C)It wouldn't fit down the stairs. Oh yes at this point one leg had fallen off- I had cut myself and bled all over the chair. - It looked to me that I would need to take off the legs- however I don't seem to have the base of my screwdriver that holds all the attachments. LeSigh. I take off part of the railing and it makes it down to my door.

D) It gets through the door but not down the wee hallway to the living room. GAAAH at this point it's been an hour of trying to get the dang thing in there. Now it's a grudge match. Typical- I get a chair with attitude. Maybe it liked living in North York- but hey, this neighbourhood is great...

E) After realizing the legs have to come off I got at them with a hammer trying to loosen the bolts. It breaks the hammer.... Seriously this chair it tough! However I refuse to be beat down by a chair. Eventually my brute strength prevails and I get the last leg off and it is here! Legless but right now I don't care. It can sit there and think about what it's done and resign itself to it's final home. Because the only way it is getting out of here is in pieces.

So take that CHAIR.

Other than that the day has been uneventful- I think that was enough. It was a possibility of going to school and working on my project more, but I did that for about 5 hours yesterday and I only have a few more hours to go. And I just can't bear to go outside again.

There's an EXTREME cold warning on for tonight and tomorrow night. Right now it's -8 but windy so probably lower.

Ok that's enough for today. I am going to go sit in my chair like the conquerer I am. Got a couple of movies to watch, I am going to vegetate!

Don't mess with me. I have tools and I will use them to destroy!

Twosday's- I like 'em!

Today was Tuesday- and in fact it still is for the next 40 minutes. It didn't start off that well as I spent half the night up and tossing and turning. I felt like I had drank a quart of coffee and was all jittery. Except that I didn't drink any coffee after about 11am yesterday.

So when I awoke to my alarm this morning I was indeed alarmed. So much so I hid for the next 40 minutes under the covers. It was snowing very heavily in big fluffy flakes. That was nice. I managed to make it to my studio class before the teacher. And by before I mean I was two steps ahead of her and held the door. But it's a pretty mellow class. We are working on a roof plan with 4 elevations. I love drafting. I could do that for all day for the rest of my life. I just love it.

It's so precise and fiddly and you get to you neat-o pencils. But the move these days is towards using Auto-Cad- boo to technology. (although I do praise it that I am able to web cam with my family almost every day- then I like technology) I had an old boyfriend that was all "damn the man" but he so liked the man that paid his EI. Stinkin hippies....

OK back on topic! After class I was feeling so good I made it to the gym for about an hour and then went to the next class. I am glad I did the gym early because I had it budgeted to do after the 2nd class- but by then I was so tired. I just came home and went to bed for a bit.

I started reading Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar yesterday. It's a really good book. I don't know much about the author other than she stuck her head in an oven. And wasn't she married to Al Purdy? or am I so confused as to the poet she was married to? Anyway, ironically (or just coincidentally) the book is all about a young woman in the depths of depression trying to kill herself it's very compelling. I'll probably finish it tonight.

Laura and I were supposed to meet up as she is in Toronto at the Gift Show doing some buying, but I got an email from her saying that it all just got out of hand and they haven't had a moment to spare. Alas- I was really looking forward to sitting around with a friend but what can you do- duty calls.

Right, I was doing some math homework- I finally got myself caught up on the weekend- and then the tempting call of the computer so here I am. I have to get out and take some more pictures. I wasn't feeling very inspired last week- all lonely and maudlin. But I chatted with Mohamed on Sunday and that perked me right up. And I have had some good chats with other friends to keep me going. Next on the hit list is Chels! It is so tempting to get up and call someone at some freaky hour like 5am and go "What? Aren't you up?- The whole WORLD is up darling!". Maybe I'll save that for a more special occasion- like the morning after a big night out...

Well this is enough for tonight and for Tuesday- the best day of the week!

Alllllright- it's a winter wonderland

So today it snowed! And it's been snowing and it will keep snowing- maybe it will be up to my knees tomorrow! That would be super awesome!

I kind of slept in today. But I managed to get out and about a bit. I found a super cheap set of shelves from someone that lives near-by. So I went out to pick them up and on my walk home the snow really started to come down.

I chatted with my friend Florie today, she is due in about a month with their first baby! I can't wait!! This is the closest I've been to being an auntie. She sounds good, but ready to be a mummy.

This afternoon I went to the ROM- as I was under the impression it was free on Friday evenings. However once I got there a sign outside told me it now costs $5. Bummer, I was really hoping this would be my "Friday night date" every week. But for $5 it's a bit expensive. Maybe once a month. It was pretty great though. They had this awesome exhibit of decor through the ages from the middle ages up to about the art deco movement. Oh it was great! Yummy furniture!

After that I did a bit of grocery shopping for the coming week and now I am sort of watching the movie Thank You For Smoking. It's alright, although I am mostly surfing the internet. Tomorrow will be lots of studying and maybe a trip to the local pool.

This is me with straight hair. It's perfect- someday it will be mine....

Egggscellent

Today, this morning , I - Michelle, ate eggs for breakfast. Well to be precise I had two tablespoons of egg whites which equals one egg which equals half a real egg. I made an scrambly thing with peppers and some tacon. (turkey bacon for the uninitiated). Actually it wasn't too bad and if I didn't think about it, the egg whites didn't taste like anything. So there you go. I am trying to get out of the habit of toast for breakfast and go with some protein since that seems to keep me going longer.

It's a late start today for me, I don't have to be at school until 2.30 where I will be subject to my first quiz/test thing. It's on grammar- ugh. I am sure that you can all tell I don't place high priority on grammar. All papers I received in uni had red marks saying "you need to proof read more"... However, I have been studying quite well for this one and spent the morning doing online quizzes.

This past weekend was pretty good. Friday was frustrating as I had to spend the whole day waiting for my boxes to arrive. I did get very cheap delivery but a window of 9-5 is exasperating. ESPECIALLY- when they didn't arrive until 7pm. So that was my day- I did spend a couple of hours on the phone to my friend Melissa getting all caught up. She and her husband Vince will be coming to Toronto at the end of Feb. I am so excited to see them! It's been a couple of years.

Saturday was so much more fun. I got up and went down town. My first time of really being "downtown". I don't think I saw much of it since I was just walking around and then I got lost- surprise, surprise.... - and headed back to Union Station, since I know where that is.

Some highlights:
outdoor skating in Nathan Phillips Square, looked like fun but I would need a buddy to hang on to as the ice looked like crap and I have only been skating once in the past ten years.

obviously the CN tower, it looks neat. I wanted to go up because it was a clear day but I think I will wait until spring when there is some contrast (trees) to the landscape. Or maybe fall. Plus I also need a friend for that because I know I will be terrified. But if I can jump out of a plane I can go up a spooky elevator- and pay for the pleasure!

The St. Lawerence Market- this is a huge indoor market, similar to Granville Island Market, only bigger and not so brightly coloured. And come to think of it not located on an island. It was neat to see all the things, but nothing really interested me. Maybe a good place to buy meat as you can select your portion size.

After being pretty frozen from all the outside walking I went to the Eaton's Centre. I had to find some comfortable (sigh- and sensible) winter boots. Which I am happy to report I did! And they look normal too, as well they were on for a huge discount which is good because I really don't like spending money on sensible shoes.

Evenings are pretty dull, I guess I am glad I have cable to hear voices and keep myself entertained.

Sunday I went to Ikea- there is a complimentary shuttle from Kipling Station which is quite dangerous. I had to buy a mattress pad for my bed since the mattress is as hard as the ground. Instead of getting one to fit my mattress I opted for a smaller one but of high quality. It's made a difference, but really I need to go to a chiropractor. Plus some other things- oh a really awesome small ironing board. You can set it up on a table. I used it last night- it's perfect.
After that I spent the day studying and went for a run which was good, hard, but good. No pain, no gain as they say.

Last night I realized I needed to rearrange my "bed/living" room. I think it works much better now. When (or if) one were to walk down the hallway they would first see my bookcase rather than my desk. I moved the desk to under the window where my bed was so I can stare out of it in procrastination- I mean, contemplation. (and the light in my face keeps me awake). The bed was moved to where the bookcase was which is also nice because people who glance in don't really see my bed and it makes it more private. What prompted all this was the fact my chair was impeding my access to the "dressing room" hence, I haven't really been using it.

This will do quite well- for now. I love arranging and rearranging things.

Today I have been studying and cleaning. It sucks to admit this, but my dad was right. You DO sleep better when your place is tidy. Now my kitchen is set up and the carpets are vacuumed. The only thins I am needing is a chair to sit in for reading. You would be surprised how hard it is to find. I have seen a couple on craigslist- but they are so expensive! And we are talking old chairs... it would be nice to not sit on my bed, but for now it will have to do.

Anyhoo there you go- all up to date. Maybe this evening I'll post new pictures of my new and improved land. Wisk me luck on the test.

I am in prettyville and Finkles the mayor...

SO I have finished my weekend at my grandmothers. The trip down went fairly well, I was early- so I think the streak has been broken. Whew- The train ride was pretty good. It's kind of flat here, reminds me of the prairies really. I suppose there would be more to look at in the summer when the trees are out.

We went along side Lake Ontario for a bit and it was nice and refreshing to see water. It even had a bit of a tide and waves going on. The first evening was quite quiet. Today we went out where Grandma had her hair done and then off to the Maple Dale cheese factory. It was great, they had samples. I had some garlic cheese curd! I also purchased some onion cheddar and one year old smoked cheddar. I sampled a bit of 5 year old cheddar- quite sharp! After that we went to the mall and had a walk around and then went to dollarramma. Everything in there is $1. It's nuts! So I got a couple of household things that you wouldn't want to spend money on. ie- scrubbies, picture hooks, etc.

Right now we are having a bit of a quiet time and I finished a smutty novel that I found in the drawer. Grandma said it was my mum's but I dunno- it was historical and didn't feature any cowboys so I doubt it. now i am slightly bored so I am typing to you lot even though I can't get an internet connection.

I really admire my Uncle Stephen- he is pretty much my grandma's care taker. He's so incredibly patient with her and so selfless with himself and his time. He is definitely a great man- but don't ever tell I said that, he's got a bit of an ego. And he informs me of all the things my mum tells me that I don't seem to be party to. Very handy indeed. My Grandma is very hard of hearing- and does not have a hearing aid.Therefore conversations are held at a higher volume than I am accustomed to. I really hope that when I am old I'll be able to banish vanity and get myself one(a hearing aid). Actually I know I will, there is no way that I want to not be able to hear what everyone is saying, how could one be nosey? People tend NOT to want to shout out personal private information to someone who is hard of hearing. Maybe I would get a whisper 2000. I always liked those commercials!
Anyhoo the news is on so I guess I'll go watch it, it seems like a right of passage when you are at your Grandparents house- always the news, that and Lawerence Welk.

Ok so I didn't post this right away- that makes me a bad blogger and now I have to do a whole nother blog right after this. Good thing I have homework to do- that always makes me procrastinate.