Too Intawnce

I'm a bit crispy on the outside right now. I would probably be in more pain if I hadn't spent 5 days practically room-bound in Mexico with scabs forming all over my sun exposed upper body. This is a mild discomfort compared to that pain. Though it does hurt to bend lift or stretch in any way.

I just got back from a nice relaxing trip to the cottage. We roadtriped to Germania and Coopers Falls in looks for some ghost town adventures. The cities were slightly more inhabited than anticipated, but what can you do. I still enjoyed the broken down buildings and the old school gas pump.

On the way home we came across a giant snapping turtle attempting to cross Hwy 48. We circled back and came up behind it again. Nik got out of the car and intimidated the turtle back into the grassy lands to the right of the hwy. He seemed to resist at first, but as we were driving away we saw him crawling further back into the grass. It was so cute from far away. He would crouch down low, but when startled he would stand tall on his legs, adding about 2-3 inches to his total height.

Jak called me later in the evening when we got back. I had missed a party in Oakville, and she wanted me to remind her of the funny name I once came across at work. "I know the first name was Richard, what was his last name?", to which I replied, "Sac."

I've moved onto A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. Seems good so far. I liked the direction Beatrice & Virgil took, it was a different type of read but I liked it.

Can't wait to get back up north again. Can't - wait.

Lazy Sunday

It's been a lazy week for me. I had a very lazy weekend with very little planned. I left my house for a grocery shopping on Sunday but I think that was about it. I've grown accustomed to a 10pm weeknight shopping time where very few people are in the store. Switching to weekends is a pain. I did accomplish a lot around the house. I finally filed away all of my car repair receipts (which I had been amazing at keeping but terrible at filing). I finally disassembled my lame Halloween t-shirt of ttc pins. I thought about putting them back up onto the black board I made but that is over. Perhaps I will resurrect them in some other fashion when the time is right. I emptied one of my 4 remaining moving boxes. And I finished Oryx and Crake. I cannot wait to get my hands on Year of the Flood to get back into that story. I've officially moved on to Beatrice & Virgil by Yann Martel. My mother tells me the book has received mixed reviews. I'm waiting until I finish before I pass final judgment.

I had a funny exchange yesterday with a guy I work with. I went into the supercube to see one of his coworkers but he was the only one there. So I pointed to the guy's desk and said, "Do you know where this one is?" In response he said, "I think he's gone to lunch. He left at 12 on the button and previous to him leaving he was asking me about Middle Eastern food places." To which I said, "Your logic is sound." To which he replied, "I'm an analyst, a business analyst." That cracked me up. Later in the kitchen he was complaining about the air quality and always sniffing at work. I told him I have the opposite problem but when I go home I sniff more. And I attribute part of it to the cat the people downstairs got. I said, "I've never seen the cat but I did notice a giant bag of cat food outside their door." To which he said, "You could be an analyst too!!" I love smart jokes that connect back to something else.

I also had an hour long debate with another coworker about corporations investing in their reputation. His stance was that corporations will readily invest in their reputation because it creates a profitable return because it increases favour with the consumers. One big example was companies going green. And I told him that a company would not go green unless it was profitable for them and that the boost in reputation is a byproduct of the business decision. If going green was more expensive then a company would not do it. Believe it or not that took an hour and even spilled into after lunch emails back and forth with links and such. I wonder if this will carry on further.

The weather's looking less than favourable but I'm thinking cottage this weekend. I'm really hoping the weather forecast turns. My real intention is to use the cottage as a base camp and take day trips to (kind of) nearby ghost towns. Shaves off that first three hours quite nicely. We'll see.

Him and Her

I took some items from my parents' garage sale last weekend. My mom was selling these two ink drawings my Grandmother had brought home from Bali. I'm not sure they fit my decor but I actually remember them hanging in her house in Minden, so I was sold. I've posted a picture below. I was too lazy to switch out the fisheye so whatever.



I think I'll hang them vertical beside my bookcase. Then I can always be reminded of my grandparents when I look at them. I tried looking up 'Him and Her' in Indonesian but my crappy internet connection has failed me. I can't decide if the internet is just really bad or my computer is dying. Maybe I'm lucky and it's both.

Onyx and Cake

I just got back from a nice Mother's Day dinner with my family. I didn't have flowers for my mom, but I do want to surprise her at some point with some. Either at her office or at home. Sadly I probably wouldn't be able to find her office on campus. But she always surprises me at my office with flowers on my birthday so it's time to return the favour.

I stayed over with momsy and dadsy on Friday, so I could be ready bright and early for a garage sale. The weather was supposed to be horrid but my mother asked me to stay in hopes that it turned around. We were up at 7 and preparing, and people were already hovering at the end of our driveway. My dad hates garage sales so he left in a huff. I told him I don't love them either but supporting each other is something we just do. Not sure I got through to him. We sold pretty much nothing, which was a disappointment. We had some good stuff. A barely used bar fridge for $30. A set of Love Seats for $50/each (though I'm sure my mom would have accepted less). We did sell a small antique item we inherited. The woman who bought it had had the exact same piece until her son-in-law sat on it. So the story goes. She was pretty happy to have a replica to keep the memory alive.

I've skipped books and I'm now on Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. It took me a bit to get into it, but now I just don't want to put it down. I've also been spending my free time trying to learn Blackbird on the guitar, the Sarah McLachlan version. Even though it's just two frets up from The Beatles it's a bit easier for me. I'm not there yet but I'm working on it. Adam played me the intro when we tripped to Ottawa and I've been wanting to pick up the rest ever since.

I'm going to try to work out more. My parents recently got me an exercise bike, and I need to start using it more. I had been for a while, but I got interrupted. But it's back on. Giddy up.

Where Fore Art Thou Rhino

I went out last night for a drink in Parkdale at a bar called The Rhino. Son and I went down and then two of her roommates and their significant others showed up. The last time I traveled West of Dufferin on Queen was in 2006 to go to the Cadillac Lounge. So it's about time I rediscovered Parkdale. We each had a pint of the house beer, Rhino Lager. I think I've developed a pretty good taste for beer, but this one I did not like. The after taste of the first sip was like Rhino excrement. And although the after taste weakened as the drink continued I don't think that will be an experience I will be duplicating anytime soon. Maybe in 2 years when I find myself back at Rhino I'll think to myself "Didn't I once say this tasted like Rhino ass?" and I'll order one more just to prove myself right. But until then, no way Jose.

One couple left early, but the four of us went back to their place to watch Romeo + Juliet. That has been a long standing favourite Soundtrack of mine. I ended up leaving before the movie was over as the power went out and I was suddenly feeling very sleepy. Interesting end to the evening. All in all, good times.

Also, I need to kick myself for looking down on someone at work who didn't know Juliet's last name. Me: "Well I doubt it's Juliet Capulet so it has to be Montague."

Oakwood Shooting

How many shootings have to happen in your neighbourhood before you start to believe it's a little bit sour of a place to live? This will be the second shooting death since I moved to Oakwood last September. There has also a school lockdown due to shots fired, and recently a man was finally convicted for stepping onto an Oakwood bus and shooting someone point blank. I take that bus all the time. What is wrong with people? Gun violence is so pointless.

I want to stay here, until I decide to buy. So this neighbourhood better shape up. Cause I need a neighbourhood, and my heart is set on you.

Life And The Art Of Honda Maintenance

I got off work early on Friday so I could get home at a good time and head out for the weekend. I mean it's no big loss for my employer since I don't get paid for a second more than I'm in the office. God I hate being on contract. Nik showed up at my place shortly after and made last minute preparations for our trip. She had picked up a bunch of treats from the bulk barn, including the candy necklace featured in the picture. It was strange heading out and arriving at our destination so soon. Short trips rock.

So we stayed the first night in Belleville, north of the downtown in a Choice Hotel. It was fine, but we should have taken the ground floor smoking room just so we could have opened the door to get a breeze. We were blasting A/C on full and it was still hot. Woke up bright and early so we could get breakfast and have good time to check out. First we stopped at a craft show at the community centre. There were a few cutie things, but we didn't stay for too long. Then it was off to Picton to check into our next location.

Prince Edward County is a cute little place to drive around, and everything is so close. We took the hwy down through Bloomfield and stopped there. Again we went into a small church craft sale. There was a lot of knitted and crocheted items. Which were nice, but just not for me. There was a rescue kitty there that was up for adoption. I put my hand into the cage and she came right over and let me scratch her head. If I wasn't so allergic and poor I'd be interested in a furry bundle of joy of my own.

Then it was back in the car and off to Picton. I almost pulled over on the way to get a soda from the trunk (ice cooler) but we were there in less than 10 minutes. We stopped at the information centre, which turned out to be completely useless, but we picked up some pamphlets for later use. We headed to the motel to check in and were pleasantly surprised with the way the place looked. We approached the desk clerk and asked for a room for the night. She asked if we had reservations and we said no. Then in a completely snarky unsatisfactory tone of voice said something along the lines of "Well good luck getting a place in town, there's a fishing tournament on." Who does that? Isn't customer service your JOB. Ack.

To hell with Picton, we carried on with our PEC adventure without it. Up the road and around the corner we stopped at Lake on the Mountain to check out the view. Got some neat photos of both Lake Ontario and Lake on the Mountain. And also saw some old cars who were there to, as we learned later, participate in an old car show. The skies were starting to grey and the humid air accompanied with burst of winds we knew the rain was a-comin. Back in the car for us.

Down the street and around the bay we headed towards the Black River Cheese Company to take a look around. We both picked up some cheese and fudge, delicious. Across the road was a kitchy type gift shop so we stopped in there to see if anything tickled our fancy. I did get a good chuckle from the sign that said, "All unattended children will be given an espresso and a free kitten." Back in the car.

Up and over we headed towards the Sandbanks. As we were driving the rain started. And even though I really wanted to see them, I didn't want to pay a $10 admission fee to walk around in the rain. No thank you. So we turned around and left.

We headed back to Bloomfield as Nik found a Gluten Free store on her phone in the neighbourhood. Turns out we had already passed it once before but missed the giant "GLUTEN FREE" banner. Most of the Gluten free goods were frozen but the guy had a fresh loaf just cut and he sold it to her. Then it was back into Picton so we could walk around and check out the city. I bought a few books, we checked into another cafe advertised as being gluten free (they had a handful of gluten free snackies and that was it - disappointing). After a stop into Giant Tiger we decided we needed to find a place to stay for the night. It was between Trenton and Kingston (or maybe Bath - but only for comedic purposes), we settled on Trenton. Unfortunately, like Belleville, the hotels are off the hwy and not in the downtown core so we didn't get to walk around Trenton as we wanted. I was pretty pooped though so I didn't complain too much. We got some dinner, checked into another Choice and called it a night. Nik slept while I got drunk and watched The Life of David Gale. But I too eventually could not keep my eyes open anymore.

We couldn't find a single thing to do on the way home. Even most of the PEC attractions we went to came recommended, we didn't just find them. Last time I made a random stop on the way home from Ottawa it was to see the Marmora Quarry, but that came recommended by Nik so we were fresh out of ideas. I even went through a list of 30 ghost towns but none were on route. Though it has given me ideas for future weekend trips. Possibly just day trips. And now I need to do that house cleaning I never did, and get ready for work tomorrow.