I'd like to think I'm a fairly intelligent being. So it doesn't feel good to admit that I only last week realized my space heater had an oscillating option. It's not even hidden. It's a button on the face of the heater that says "Oscillation". Point: Honeywell.
I've taken on a new adventure at work. I have decided to culture slam them by leaving inspiring or thoughtful quotes on the whiteboards in the conference rooms. I started on Friday night, and almost wet myself while I scribbled out the following Frost quote - "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one last traveled by, and that has made all the difference." I strolled past the conference room this afternoon and was tickled pink to see that the other PLO material had been erased by my quote proudly remained at the top of the board. Maybe I'll put a new one up each Friday? It may be lame but I'm kind of excited.
The Eastern parking lot at Cherry Beach is officially closed for the season. Maybe they could take this opportunity to fix the horrendous pot holes that riddle the entire stretch of the lot. I doubt it, but it would be nice. Maybe it's time to find a new winter haunt, but it's hard to think of a new place. It's so peaceful at night, and fairly isolated. Plus it's just a stone's throw from the downtown core. It made me think of where I would have gone in Calgary and that's easy - Nose Hill. I wish we had a city hill that overlooked the entire city. It would probably be too congested to ever get a spot. Here I go already dreaming up traffic for a site that doesn't even exist.
I went to see my Great Aunt this weekend. I love her to pieces. She's so tiny and proper, but she has this wicked smirk that shows she also has a great sense of humour. I told her all about my trip East, and we talked about books, and just everything. I told her about my Halloween costume and she knew what I was talking about. Though she may not have found it as hilarious I did.
I'm about to start reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. Adam lent it to me. I want to expand my reading into the classics. I might do Steinbeck next. Onwards!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Woooof
I had a project this weekend that required me to be in our downtown office from 9am-5:30pm on Saturday and 9:30am-7:00pm on Sunday. I'm beat. I actually went to a silent auction with my mother on Saturday night, and followed that up with a trip down to Cherry beach with Adam. The MC at the silent auction was unbearable. After each time she opened her mouth I would turn to my mother in disgust and remark about how terrible she was. That didn't leave much time for rest, but I didn't want my entire weekend to be wasted.
Two of my coworkers and I took the subway home together. One headed to the West end, one to North York, and me to York. As soon as we all sat down I said, "This is where I pretend to ignore everyone else, so there will be no further talking." Funny thing, we all sat in silence until about St. George and the West ender left us. I made some small talk with the last guy. He was the team lead for our Data Specialist team. He should really be the manager but our company decided to eliminate middle management and put all of the pressure on team leads. I like his style so it was nice to spend a weekend getting to know him better. Him and my old manager are both pretty cool. What really upsets me about this weekend is that I probably won't get OT pay. The 18 hrs will be added to my clocked hours, and only when it goes over 88hrs will it turn into pay and a half. Eff that noise, and that is all I have to say about that.
It's been a pretty busy week. Between dinner at home, to coffee with an old friend, I've been busy. Adam came over on Wednesday and we watched a movie. It was nice. There was no spastic cat to lure with nimbly tapping fingers, but that's ok. We had another midweek night trip to Cherry beach. It's kind of where we go when we're not sure what to do. It's not too busy late at night. And it's extra nice in the Summer time when you can walk up and down the beach, maybe blind skip a rock or two.
I have a few places to add to my new things in Toronto list. Next time.
Two of my coworkers and I took the subway home together. One headed to the West end, one to North York, and me to York. As soon as we all sat down I said, "This is where I pretend to ignore everyone else, so there will be no further talking." Funny thing, we all sat in silence until about St. George and the West ender left us. I made some small talk with the last guy. He was the team lead for our Data Specialist team. He should really be the manager but our company decided to eliminate middle management and put all of the pressure on team leads. I like his style so it was nice to spend a weekend getting to know him better. Him and my old manager are both pretty cool. What really upsets me about this weekend is that I probably won't get OT pay. The 18 hrs will be added to my clocked hours, and only when it goes over 88hrs will it turn into pay and a half. Eff that noise, and that is all I have to say about that.
It's been a pretty busy week. Between dinner at home, to coffee with an old friend, I've been busy. Adam came over on Wednesday and we watched a movie. It was nice. There was no spastic cat to lure with nimbly tapping fingers, but that's ok. We had another midweek night trip to Cherry beach. It's kind of where we go when we're not sure what to do. It's not too busy late at night. And it's extra nice in the Summer time when you can walk up and down the beach, maybe blind skip a rock or two.
I have a few places to add to my new things in Toronto list. Next time.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
A Freckle on the Nose of Life's Complexion
I wonder what our world will be like when our generation is at the top of the demographic distribution triangle. Will we be toting that we were kids when the internet first became popularized, just as some might have bragged about the first automobiles? I wonder.
I went to see the Toronto Philharmonia play on Thursday night. A coworker's wife is in the orchestra and he scored us some tickets. He playfully mentioned on the ride down that it was a coy plan for him to score a free lift there, and I laughed as I said, "Don't think that didn't cross my mind." But he was of course joking. For someone that commutes into Mississauga from the Toronto East end, he's no stranger to public transit and wouldn't blink twice at finding his way to the Toronto Centre for the Arts. At any rate it was a great show. They have 7 performances this year, and in efforts to find a new conductor they are having a new one for each performance. Looking at some of the photos for the up and coming conductors I was surprised at how young they all were. And to think, if it's difficult to make it as a musician think about how much harder it is for a conductor. Not many orchestras around town. The second song featured this amazing classical guitarist Michael Kolk (in this video on the left: Youtube link).
As promised from earlier I have a photo to share with you. Adam so cleverly clipped this from the Sun several weeks ago. I laughed so hard the first time I saw it, and
I laugh every time I see it. The actual article to match the photo was about disaster relief, which is no laughing matter, but that was just too brilliant. Like some sort of editor's Easter egg. I have a lot to do today so I should get to it. Right now I'm just trying to heat my place up to a tolerable heat so that when I step out of the shower I won't freeze. For the record I hate winter at this apartment. Summer (minus the scorchers) is so wonderful. At least I have a space heater now. Last year I waited until Christmas to get one, but I don't know how I survived the cold winter nights that were upon us then.
I went to see the Toronto Philharmonia play on Thursday night. A coworker's wife is in the orchestra and he scored us some tickets. He playfully mentioned on the ride down that it was a coy plan for him to score a free lift there, and I laughed as I said, "Don't think that didn't cross my mind." But he was of course joking. For someone that commutes into Mississauga from the Toronto East end, he's no stranger to public transit and wouldn't blink twice at finding his way to the Toronto Centre for the Arts. At any rate it was a great show. They have 7 performances this year, and in efforts to find a new conductor they are having a new one for each performance. Looking at some of the photos for the up and coming conductors I was surprised at how young they all were. And to think, if it's difficult to make it as a musician think about how much harder it is for a conductor. Not many orchestras around town. The second song featured this amazing classical guitarist Michael Kolk (in this video on the left: Youtube link).
As promised from earlier I have a photo to share with you. Adam so cleverly clipped this from the Sun several weeks ago. I laughed so hard the first time I saw it, and
I laugh every time I see it. The actual article to match the photo was about disaster relief, which is no laughing matter, but that was just too brilliant. Like some sort of editor's Easter egg. I have a lot to do today so I should get to it. Right now I'm just trying to heat my place up to a tolerable heat so that when I step out of the shower I won't freeze. For the record I hate winter at this apartment. Summer (minus the scorchers) is so wonderful. At least I have a space heater now. Last year I waited until Christmas to get one, but I don't know how I survived the cold winter nights that were upon us then.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Autumn Time, and the Living is Easy
I have finally completed my ten new adventures in Toronto. Perhaps it took me longer than it should have, but falling into familiar routines is so easy. Futures, BMV, 7-11, Flip Toss & Thai, coffee at Cherry Beach, a movie from Blockbusters. It feels good to expand my horizons, and I'd like to keep this tradition going for my own sake. I want to know as much as I can about this fine city of ours.
I'll get straight to the point. Yesterday after work I met up with Adam at a Bakery at Dovercourt and Bloor called Nova Era. It's a part of a chain of Portuguese bakeries that spreads across the downtown. It's nice and clean with a delicious selection of baked goods. I had a delicious cream filled donut type thing and was very pleased with it. We just sat and chatted for a while before calling it. The only thing I didn't like was that you paid after you had eaten. Why not just charge me up front? Then I can leave when I need to and not have to worry about flagging someone down or forgetting to pay (not that I would, but everyone is human).
After that we headed to the Comedy Bar for my first time ever seeing a live sketch comedy performance. And also it was my first time at the Comedy Bar. It was a cute little venue with a bar and a small performance area. A friend of Adam's was on the ticket for the Toronto Sketch Fest that was kicking off that night. I cannot believe how funny they were. It's hard to explain it but the content was just hilarious and the execution was just phenomenal. The other two groups on the ticket were alright, but this one set in particular was head and shoulders and pretty much an entire torso above the rest.
Perhaps my next mission will be to get to know my neighbourhood better. I still haven't had Jamaican food and I'm pretty much surrounded by it.
Tonight was the second night in a row that I stayed at the office until 7pm. I'm so busy right now. It might start slowing down for me after mid-November but until then I have 3 major internal projects to prepare for. I'm also coming up on the end of my contract. It feels like just yesterday I switched departments but it's almost a year ago. I have just over 3 months left and then who knows. Maybe they'll extend maybe they won't. They have their priorities so I need to have my own as well.
I'll get straight to the point. Yesterday after work I met up with Adam at a Bakery at Dovercourt and Bloor called Nova Era. It's a part of a chain of Portuguese bakeries that spreads across the downtown. It's nice and clean with a delicious selection of baked goods. I had a delicious cream filled donut type thing and was very pleased with it. We just sat and chatted for a while before calling it. The only thing I didn't like was that you paid after you had eaten. Why not just charge me up front? Then I can leave when I need to and not have to worry about flagging someone down or forgetting to pay (not that I would, but everyone is human).
After that we headed to the Comedy Bar for my first time ever seeing a live sketch comedy performance. And also it was my first time at the Comedy Bar. It was a cute little venue with a bar and a small performance area. A friend of Adam's was on the ticket for the Toronto Sketch Fest that was kicking off that night. I cannot believe how funny they were. It's hard to explain it but the content was just hilarious and the execution was just phenomenal. The other two groups on the ticket were alright, but this one set in particular was head and shoulders and pretty much an entire torso above the rest.
Perhaps my next mission will be to get to know my neighbourhood better. I still haven't had Jamaican food and I'm pretty much surrounded by it.
Tonight was the second night in a row that I stayed at the office until 7pm. I'm so busy right now. It might start slowing down for me after mid-November but until then I have 3 major internal projects to prepare for. I'm also coming up on the end of my contract. It feels like just yesterday I switched departments but it's almost a year ago. I have just over 3 months left and then who knows. Maybe they'll extend maybe they won't. They have their priorities so I need to have my own as well.
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