Yike, Likety

I thought the heat wave was over for the summer, but I clearly thought wrong. There was actually a good stretch of days that I didn't have to use the fan. I even contemplated packing it away in my closet. I would have had to unpack it because dangity dang it's hot out. My neighbour said nice night and I told him it was too hot, but he replied that I should think back on this weather in January and decide which I prefer. I think it's a close call, but I would rather sweat to the oldies without lifting a finger rather than wake up because my nose is so cold I can't sleep. But it was a close call.

Work has been really terrible for me lately. I've made/contributed to 2 major errors, and now a 3rd project of mine is taking a turn for the worse. It makes me want to just pack up and leave, but that's just taking the easy way out. I have a "talk" with my manager coming up, so who knows what that will lead to.

I've been doing some getting away over the past few weekends. From a full house cottage weekend to a day trip to Sim's new place, I've been busy. The weekend after next I'm going back up north and then from there embarking on a two week trip to the Maritimes. If I had the time or money I would extend the trip. But I can't afford to cover my work wages plus pay for vacation costs for that long. Even two weeks is pushing it, but I figure I'm only young once and I can always earn the money back.

I wanted to write more but the heat is getting to me. I missed the buskerfest last week because the timing didn't work out. But I did pick up a wicked piece of advice from that day, which I shall share: ♫Whenever scrambled eggs start getting you down, you can always go -- eggs benny♫

Go on.....git.

There is one thing that can happen in the mornings that aggravates me above most all else, and that is having my driveway lane way blocked. Last Thursday and Friday the same City of Toronto worker was blocking the driveway with his work truck and he would not move. On Thursday I was the second of two cars in a line to get out and the first person wanted to turn around so I did it, and proceeded to drive the wrong way to leave. It might just be a driveway but it has an exit separate from the entrance, it's the size of one car width, and there's a one way sign at the entrance. I'm pretty good at math so I've figured out that the entire lane is one way. It was completely begrudgingly that I did that, and not without shouting to the City worker that he cannot park to block a one way driveway. Then on Friday he was back again. I waited for maybe 20-30 seconds before I honked. He waved his hand as if to say 'just a second', and then went back to work. So I honked twice and he ignored me. Then I yelled something along the lines of, "You're going to have to move your ****** car, this is a one way driveway." Then I got a lecture about not cursing and giving him respect. I got out of the car to make sure it was a City of Toronto truck, wrote down his plate, and once again begrudgingly turned around to leave going the wrong way. If I had hit anyone on my way out it would have been 100% my fault. He didn't force me to drive the wrong way, but if I wanted to leave I didn't have any other choice.

Then today I came home to find someone parked in my spot. That was just so fantastic. The landlord knew it was the downstairs tenant but didn't seem to care. So right now I'm parked on the street. I walked to the back and they were sitting out there and said he was just leaving. If he wasn't staying overnight there was no reason he couldn't have parked on the street. That behaviour annoys me. Right now because there is construction on the back of the house, there is only room for the big mud pile and one car. I pay for that spot, don't let anyone else use it. Period. Thanks.

Work is a nightmare and I am getting really behind on a few of my projects. I'm looking forward to this upcoming weekend. It should be a nice relaxing weekend getaway. I'm actually procrastinating on some take home work right now.

Also, Visioneers is NOT a good movie. It had such potential but it bit the big one. Maybe the problem was going into it thinking a movie with Zach Galifianakis about an epidemic of people exploding was a comedy, big mistake.

I'm As Quiet As A Fish

I have had quite the week. I latched on to my Aunt and Uncle and spent as much time with them as possible, because I think they are amazing. They came and picked me up on Tuesday and we went and had breakfast/lunch in Kensington. We walked around for a bit and then settled in for food at Last Temptation. I'm glad I had been there just a few weeks previous when Divell came into town, or I might not have known where to go. I enjoyed the food, very much. Then we hunted down one of the last remaining Banksy tags from his May 2010 visit. It's behind the old OPP building on Harbour just before Bay. I got us lost trying to find it, and then miraculously we ended up at the exact right intersection. I didn't have my camera but it was quite neat. Then we cruised for a while trying to find an adequate place to dine with the family. After much difficulty we scored reservations for 6 at Origins at 9pm, and not a moment sooner. The food was unbelievable, un-be-lievable. It cost an arm and a leg but it was sooo good. Before dinner though we walked around the Distillery District for a while. I think that neighbourhood is a must for tourists, and of course locals. We sat on the patio at the Mill Street Pub, and shared a quick little something before heading to my brother's condo. This worked well for the rellies because they needed to see his place, but fitting it into another day would have been difficult. They really filled their days to the brim with activities. Wednesday I met up with them after work and we went to the Rainbow Theatre for an airing of "Exit Through the Gift Shop Door" which is a documentary on Banksy and some related graffiti artists. I quite enjoyed, and would recommend to anyone interested in the subject. The whole time we were trying to find a posted for my Aunt to steal and take home. They got one from their trip to Spain and I guess she's starting a tradition of sorts. The movie was followed by a sad goodbye in the parking lot. Not dramatically sad, but I don't know when I'll see them next and I miss them already.

Today I met Sonny after work at her work. We hopped over to Dai Ichi for some really yummy sushi. We're getting better but we still haven't learned how to order the right amount of food. The 3 roll Maki Set was definitely too big. Of course we did fill up on some of the free apps we got, because of the wait. There was this DELICIOUS one that was potatoes in a honey garlic sauce. Drool. Afterwards we went to Gairloch Park in Oakville, and I brought my camera to take some pictures. The waves were really strong and were beating up against the rocks in a really beautiful way. After a quick stop in with her parents we headed back downtown. I was really impressed to see an Alex Janvier hanging in her parents' bathroom. He's one of my favourite artists.

I have some decisions to make this weekend. My place is relatively clean since I scrambled for it to be presentable for my Aunt and Uncle. It's not the best, but the next phase of cleaning can wait. And by next phase I mean finish unpacking my boxes. The cottage freed up so I'm thinking that sounds like a good option.

I had already been there, but I'm counting the Distillery as Toronto #2.

Just So You (K)now

I had a fairly enjoyable day at work yesterday. There are a group of people that can make my office a fun place to be. A crisis was averted, yet several others seem to be emerging. But my manager admitted that the most recent of tragic turns for the worse was not my fault, and was unforeseeable from my position. I do still feel responsible for the rework effort required.

In good news I have secured my time off and will be embarking on a two week journey to the East Coast in September. The trip shall start and end with time at our cottage. I'm not supposed to know this, but I have it on good authority that we will be getting a hammock up there. That is perhaps some of the sweetest news I have heard in a long time. I can picture the good times already. So from the cottage I'll drive across and down through Ottawa and begin to look for some places to happen and make some stops along the way. I already have a draft route in mind, including: Fredricton, Hopewell, Summerside, Charlottetown, New Glasgow, Halifax, Lunenburg, Saint John, and perhaps a few QC cities on the way home. Not all of those are going to be overnights or I might find myself in an even tighter money situation. I have been putting money aside to prepare for my first down payment, but I feel this trip is more important.

I had a great weekend up north this weekend past. There was a family wedding, and my Aunt and Uncle from LA are up visiting. They are just the coolest people, and I wish I got to see them more. Apparently a family trip to LA is in the works for next summer. I stayed up both nights talking to my uncle, and during the day we sat on the patio and he played guitar for us. Very good stuff.

And last night was a night like many others. I met up with Adam and went for a coffee at Tim's on Davenport, where he shamelessly admitted to the clerk I didn't want a donut only because I had just gorged on pizza. Thank you Adam. Then we skipped down to Woodbine Park to see what the good word was. With the darkness and the fog we couldn't see much, but we took a nice walk down the boardwalk. I think I'd like to mark that down as my first of ten required new Toronto activities this summer.

Take it to the Nth Degree

There's this neighbourhood cat that likes to sleep in my driveway. Twice now I've made that tight turn into the one way alley to find an orange and white tabby taking a snooze. First time he jumped out of the way, but the second time he meandered, and then sat calmly as I drove past. It made me laugh but really it scares me. I worry about the kittens. They're not actually kittens, I just more often that not refer to all cats that way.

I took a trip this weekend to Kincardine. I got kind of surprised at the volume of traffic remaining on Saturday morning at 10:30. What is everyone else doing being a lazy git like me and not leaving bright and early, if not Friday night? The time on the road was a bit too extended for my liking but I quite enjoyed walking around Kincardine. I stopped first at a beach and took some photos and read for a while. I didn't want the main street to shut down before I had a chance to look around so I headed that way shortly after. I can't romanticize the trip because it was an ordinary somewhat uninspired trip. I just have a burning desire to travel every nook and cranny and of this country. Looking back now I wish I had kept a better diary of my trips. I'm still young, there's still time.

I'm reading 'Franny and Zooey' by JD Salinger. It would have perhaps sat on my shelf unread for decades to come if Adam hadn't picked it off to borrow one weekend. He found out that the Royal Tenenbaums was loosely based on the characters from this book. Very smart but unusually bizarre. It took a bit to get into, but I've enjoyed it. I'm excited for the next book selection. I must say, I can't afford to continue buying books, I really must stop. I have spent at least a few hundred on books this year alone. I have enough unread to last me a while, so I best reign in that spending.

Dinner with Shmucks was not what I was expecting yet still hilarious. Randomly ran into Adam Mansour from LP. All grown up and married, very exciting.

I challenge myself to do 10 new things around the city before the summer is out. Be it parks or cafes or pubs, I must explore more. I'm also going to start going to bed earlier and taking better care of myself all around.