This Is Not A Blog Post

In an attempt to get back to keeping this site current, I am forcing myself on this lovely Sunday to write. I went out yesterday in the morning with Sim. I picked up some McD bagel combos on the way to her place, and we headed to the Distillery for the outdoor Christmas festival. The plan was to get there for 10am to beat the parking rush. Mission accomplished if I do say so myself. The lot right off Mill street was practically half empty. And by the time we were leaving cars were stalking outgoing parties vying for free spots. I waved a car to follow me knowing how much I would wish fellow parkers would extend that courtesy to me. Anyways, the festival was enjoyable. The weather was perfect for a nice stroll outside. Cute identical booths were set up all along the pathways. The distillery is cool enough, so to turn it into an outdoor market is just the coolest. Sim commented that it might be slightly more enjoyable in the summer sun, which is true, but I still had a great time. Didn't find anything that really caught my fancy. I was taken by a small carved owl, but I've lost my taste for impractical purchases being broke and all.

I've been meaning to take a walk down to Oakwood and St. Clair to grab a shot of an electrical box that has been ingeniusly turned into a Domo. It gave me quite the chuckle when I first passed it, and again when I drove passed to verify it was still there. I think when I do make it down, I'll stop into a cupcake shop in the neighbourhood called The Cupcakery. I'll just consider it a grocery purchase, shhh.

I'm going to Sim's tomorrow for a make shift brew fest. Since the $5 samples at the Brewery Market at Wychwood seemed a bit steep we decided to launch our own sampling party. On a fixed budget that will triple our consumption.

I'm still keeping up with the exercising, but not seeing much of a change yet. I guess if it takes 3000 calories to burn off a pound it could take up to two weeks to burn each pound. If that's what it takes, I'm ready to commit and be patient.

I also saw an old high school friend for dinner the other night. Sarah had me over for a really delicious sausage and gnocchi dinner. Her fiance Pete hooked me up with the company he's using to find a job. And I'm also going to contact an agency that was recommended by another friend. Maybe that will result in something in the new year. Here's hoping. We played a dice game called Zombie Dice. The point is to roll as many brains as possible without rolling 3 shot guns. I totally owned. Just saying.

I've got a busy week coming up. I'm trying to decide how much to spend at my parents' house. Without having an actual bed to stay in, it's tough to stay for longer than a night or two. Before I do go, I plan to use up some thawed chicken by making this: Chef Michael's Chicken Stew. And I'm planning making some of these for my mom for Christmas: DIY Mason Jar Candle Holders.

That's all. Happy holidays.

Neighbourhood #1: Ossington Village

And so it begins. I met up with Sim yesterday at 1pm at the corner of Dundas and Ossington. Our first stop was at Pizzeria Libretto for some lunchies. We share a fixed price lunch which started with a really tasty Arugula, Pear & Walnut salad. Next was a yummy thin sliced Marghertia pizza, and a few biscotti to finish. I felt like I was going to break a tooth, and they weren't Sim's thing so I wrapped them up for later. I may or may not have embarrassed myself with the waitress by saying "I'm never coming back here again until I have a job." It wasn't meant as an insult, more as compliment I suppose. I can't afford places that add $5 to the menu for ambiance. I'll take the cheap meal or a nice home cooked meal instead.

I had spotted a store with a closing business sale so we stopped by Tibet Touch on Dundas. It was mostly clothes. At first I thought it was going to be more like the that eclectic store on Bloor in the Annex, but it was a bit of a bust. The cafe I had seen during my internet research phase was not available so we took a walk down the West side of Ossington. We stopped at first cafe we passed which was Goet Eten. Sim pointed out that it was German for good eats. Good deal. [edit: not the actual translation, as later discovered] I ordered the Mocha, and Sim got the Latte. I know mine was delicious. Perhaps a tad more than I would usually spend on a caffeinated beverage, but it was good enough to make me forget. We sat and drank our coffees and played a few games of backgammon. Sim has that extra talent in BG that I'll never quite obtain. I think it comes from learning a game as a child and playing through to adulthood. But I do put up a good fight.

Next we stopped into a vintage clothing store called Vintage1. There were some cute clothes, and Sim inspected some of the hand crafted belts. They had some wild 70s blazers. They were all so wonderfully tacky. Next we hopped across the street to Frantic City. I was really hoping to find something to buy. I did pick up a Steinbeck, but at $9 it was between getting the book or buying a beer later. And the beer won out. I really loved that bookstore. They had all sorts of really interesting books on display, and then the rest neatly organized on the walls. On we went. We were in search of a gallery we wanted to stop in on. Unable to find it we took a walk down to Queen and into a small park beside CAMH to read up on the CAMH Heritage wall. We even called the number to listen to a recorded piece describing the creation of the wall and a bit about the inhabitants of the asylum at the time. Eventually the electronic voices became too much and I had to hang up. I meant to write down the number and extension but alas I forgot. After a quick check on Sim's smart phone we were off to Gallery TPW. The gallery was exhibiting one of the major annual shows, Photorama. It was all contemporary photography, with a lot of creative editing. The exhibit actually first caught my eye online because the lead photo strongly reminded me of Sim's personal work. Staged photos with a bit of cheeky editing. We had a nice walk around the gallery, commenting on the ones we were taken by, and the ones we weren't. We also stopped in on the AWOL Gallery for a much smaller showing. Interesting graph paper-esque paintings. I think I liked the cloud one best.

At this point it was nearing 4:30 and we knew we had 30 minutes to kill before some of the evening establishments opened their doors. We were thinking about stopping at a particular Tequila Bar Sim was interested in, but when we found the doors still closed we moved on. We walked passed a side street with a really interesting piece of graffiti. I took this wide picture and then Sim grabbed a shot of me (which I might post up later). We kept on from there until we were back up at Dundas and we went on the hunt for The Communist's Daughter. I had called it Communist's Sister all day, but finally by the end I had it right. We got there at about 20-to and needed to kill some time. We took another walk west, past Tibet Touch in search for...anything. I spotted a Nova Era, which seem to be popping up all over the city. Or perhaps I'm travelling around more and noticing just how many locations they have. Our small walk was a bust, and by the time we got back we still had 15 minutes to go until doors opened. I spotted a Beading store across the street, Soo Ling Beads & Beading Co. so we hopped over to check it out. It was a lot smaller inside than I had pictured. If I was a handy crafter it might be a place I'd consider getting my beads & beading accessories. Maybe if I decide to try hemp bracelets again I could pick up a few add-ons. At any rate. We still had 10 minutes left after that so we just poked our heads in and asked if we could sit down. The nice bar tender gave us the nod. We picked a table at the back and both ordered a pint of Maclean's Pale Ale. At first sip I liked the beer, but found there to be an acrid aftertaste. That dissipated and it was fairly enjoyable. I think Sim gave it the thumbs up. The place was Sim's recommendation, and I'm glad we stuck around for it because it was super cute. Perhaps a bit dark, but not too dark for a few more games of BG! At about 6:30 we called our first neighbourhood adventure to an end. Sim headed back East and I waited for the 63 to come. There was actually a bus there when I first crossed but it was out of service. The next to come as an S loop which turned back South at Bloor. The next regular bus was PACKED. Some people with passes hopped on at the back, but there was no more room at the front. I think I was the only person, perhaps with one other, that didn't make it on. And that just meant all the more room for me on the half empty bus that arrived 2 minutes later. Boom.

I'm not sure what's neighbourhood is next. Somewhere that we won't regret missing out on the summer time experience. And perhaps for next time I'll prebandage my heels so I don't have to whine about blisters. I miss sandal weather already. The end!

Backity Back Back

I didn't intend for my hiatus to be quite so long. I actually didn't intend on a hiatus at all, it just sort of happened. I just deleted a few drafts I had written up but failed to post. But this one is definitely going to happen.

The depression of being unemployed has been wearing on my spirit for quite some time now. The drain on my bank account is sometimes unbearable. I quibble over spending $2 here, and $3 there. I've never been a big spender but this is almost unbearable. Soon I will have to give up and move home. I dread the day I need to make that decision. I'm also not doing so well on moving forward with my correspondence course, but that's an entirely different issue.

One thing that has definitely brought me back is my new volunteer position. I was out every day last week helping with a mail out, but now I'm down to a manageable one day a week. Although it's not bringing in any money, it has given me a bit of purpose.

This weekend I'm starting a great new project with Sim. We're going to adventure across Toronto getting to know all of the neighbourhoods a bit more intimately. It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I started by tracking new places I'd been to, and this is my next step. This coming weekend will be the inaugural adventure, and up first is Ossington Village. We've jotted down a few key places to visit and the rest will roll out!

Also, I've been hitting the stationary bike 5 or 6 days a week. I'm hoping to start seeing some results soon. And next, I get a job.

Hey There Coffee Girl

I am still batting 000 for this whole "finding a job" thing. I'm getting more anxious, and I feel myself submitting to the idea of moving home. I still want to know how high my insurance is, and if it can sustain me. I've been meaning to jot a few things down here lately but I suppose encouragement from a friend is really the best motivator.

A lot has been happening in my relatively uneventful life. My car was sent to the junk yard, by my hand. Every time I thought I was making a mistake I flashed back to the handful of terror-inducing episodes on the hwy where I thought I was going to not live. I got $150 from the whole deal, which is a lot more than what I got from the Voyager. I've noticed a pattern with the cars I own and how long they last. It started in 2000 when I got a 1992. I drove that for almost 6 years, and then got a 1998. I drove that one for 6 years and then got a 2004. So I'm always 8 years behind the times, and they last for 6 years.

Also in the news I cut my hair. Lobbed off a good 10 inches. I have a pony tail somewhere around the house that I need to mail out to a place that makes wigs for cancer patients. Hopefully there is enough good hair that they can make something.

I almost had a fit last night when I arrived home and the downstair's neighbour's car was so close to the half mark that I could barely fit my car in. I had to back it up far enough passed the other car so I could hop into the back seat and exit that way. This is all after I knocked on their door and they rudely ignored me. So all bets are off. No more walking around on tippy toes, it's time to walk with my heels again. No more creeping up the stairs (unless it's late, I don't want to be that rude). Result: the landlord is finally going to clear away the dirt pile that has been obstructing the second parking spot for well over a year. And lastly, neighbours are on my bad side until they choose to redeem themselves. I told them when they moved in that the dirt pile made it tough to park two cars, but instead of DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT, they made their problem my problem. Not a good time to do that to me.

I've been keeping up with my resolutions, moderately well. I'm hoping to notice an improvement across all fronts. While doing some studying today I tried to short-hand Stock Exchange and ended up with SExchange. So much for time savers.

Also, I think my calculator is on crack:


I'm currently cooking a Butternut squash. Since when? Also yesterday I marinated my cheap steaks in soy sauce and brown sugar with diced onions. Not too shabby. Am I...growing up? Now all I need is a JOB.

Be It Resolved

I am at a bit of a crossroads in my life. Being unemployed has really affected me in a way I did not expect. I'm also having issues with my car that are really upseting me. My dad is pressuring me to get a new car, but that will mean I need to get collision on my insurance, and rates will obviously go up. I'm not ready for that. I've also always driven a beater so it will be a difficult adjustment.

I'm going to see my aunt tomorrow. She has moved to the rehab wing of her hospital and they are going to push her until she has physically recovered from her injury. If she does well she'll be able to go back to her current retirement home and carry on with her life as usual. I hope she can recover because that is the life I want for her. She's a smart cookie, and needs the intellectual stimulation.

I'd like to start setting some new goals for myself. I have so much free time (obviously), but I'm not being productive enough. I'd like to see myself:
1) Work out for at least 15 minutes every day. Even if it's just going for a walk around my neighbourhood.
2) Complete at least 10 pages from my correspondence course.
3) Read at least 30 pages from any leisure book.
4) Apply to at least 3 jobs a day.
5) Clean at least one area of my house, or complete one cleaning task.

If I don't get my act in gear I'm going to lose my apartment and my independent lifestyle. Moving back home would be crushing but I'm running out of choices. This is actually the longest I have ever stayed in one place. Just two years, but it has grown on me, a lot.

Oh no I didn't

Nikki: I'm going to go fishing for a little bit.
Julie: Are you going to use Master Bait? No wait...what's it called?
Nikki: Power Bait...it's called Power Bait.
Julie: Ummm, right, that stuff.

Get Your Stinking Paws Off Of Me

I went to the movies yesterday with Adam to see the new Planet of the Apes movie. I'm so out of touch, I hadn't even heard of it. I quite liked it. I don't think I've seen the Wahlberg version, but either way this one was good. I said to Adam it was probably even better since it was free. Before I left my last job I got a little thank you card for a really long project being wrapped up and with the card came a movies for 2 + drinks + popcorn coupon. That's pretty decent, because all in that would be $40-$50 and we got it for free.

I've been applying to jobs like mad but not hearing anything back. I need to change something because how this is right now isn't working out for me, not one bit.

I'm going up north with Nik this weekend. I might stop into the hospital to visit my Great Aunt. She's been having some health problems, and then on top of that she took a fall and busted her hip and wrist. Then it's a nice long weekend at the cottage. Hopefully the weather holds up for some nice outdoor enjoyment. I want to finish up the Atwood book I'm into now, and then I also picked up Anthem by Ayn Rand. I think it's supposed to be a prequel to Atlas Shrugged. It's a quick 100 page read, compared to the brutal 1050 page read that was Atlas Shrugged. Maybe next January I'll do the same thing and pick a really long book that would otherwise be slightly too intimidating.

I've been keeping busy. Coffee at Cherry Beach, drinks at Jaks, dinner at Futures. I'm trying my best to keep money outtake to a minimum, but it's tough. Once summer is up, I think I might go into hertmitude until I have an income again. Wahn. I'm also going to focus on the best possible way to go on the cheap for food. I'll just have rice every day. 3 times a day. Yum.

TV is officially gone. I watched tv earlier this week for the first time in months. I can't be too upset about the switch to HD. I could imagine I still have free-to-air and there would be no difference. I am upset that my tv which says "HDTV" on it doesn't have a tuner. But again, I'm not too bothered.

Anyways, toodles.

Fill In This Blank: F--- --U

http://www.torontotaxpayer.ca/Contests/Fill-In-The-Blanks

Tell The Toronto Tax Payers Coalition why you support Tax Cuts, and win a chance to have lunch with Doug Ford of Sun Media journalist Sue-Ann Levy.

My Submission
The only reason I would want to win would be to embarrass Councillor Ford by not showing up.

With a 774 million dollar shortfall for next year's budget how could tax cuts even be up for consideration. Maybe before you start down this road you guys should all get together and count out how many libraries you will need to close to support any more cuts.

I left a good job in Calgary and came back to Toronto because I love this city. And now I am considering leaving again because you are tearing out its heart and soul. Tax cuts might as well translate directly into services cuts, because that is what is going to happen.

Doug Ford makes me sick. Sun Media makes me sick. And this is a gross attempt to measure up to the free lunch with Margaret Atwood or Michael Ondaatje. Guess what, the library's lunch offer is way better.

Ten Bucks And A Headstart

I just got back earlier this week from a trip up north. Dom and I started with a long weekend at the cottage, and then headed north from there. Destination: Kenora, ON. I have a friend from Calgary that lives there, and another gf from Calgary was having a small family reunion so I took the opportunity to turn it into a reunion of our own.

Monday we headed towards Wawa, stopping only at the Big Nickel in Sudbury (and for gas and food). We actually brought a small cooler of food to start and save on money. But after the first day our use of pre-bought food dropped. I had a sandwich on day two, but it was pretty nasty. By day three the whole cooler and all of its contents smelled of rotting sandwich meat. We defaulted back to crackers and licorice for on-the-road sustinance. The second night we stayed in Ignace which was no big todo. They had not much to do, and a place with overpriced burgers. Who charges $6 for a burger, and then $4 for fries and coleslaw, and then another $2 for a soda. A place that should be considered a big old boony rip-off is who.

Wednesday morning we headed towards the Manitoba border. I mistakenly thought the border entrance had a big old Manitoba province cut-out, but that was at the MB-SK border. We stopped at the two tourist centres. I asked the Ontario guides if there were any cool falls along the way. They pointed out Kakabeka Falls, but we had already caught a glimpse from the hwy on the way through. They said no, but the answer should have been "I don't know." I found out a day or so ago there was a falls right next to a town we stopped to eat in. http://gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/aguasabon.shtml Nothing earth shattering, but I would have liked to have seen it. Oh well. Don't know if I'll be up there again any time soon, or ever again.

Kenora was a blast. I went out for dinner with Jenn on Wednesdsay, and then the three girls got together on Thursday night, and Dom came with. We stopped at DQ and then hung out in Jenn's basement for a while. She's staying with a friend in a really nice house. She also gave us a quick driving tour of Kenora, including the "Bermuda Triangle" which turned out to be a small patch of grass maybe 10-12 feet on each side of the triangle. A supposedly very troubled patch of grass.

On the drive back Dom and I stopped again in Wawa and on the way down made a few stops at some pretty lake side parks. Old Woman Bay, and Katherin's Cove were the two stops we made. I had taken notice of Katherine's Cove on the way up and noted the name for a Southern stop. The rock beaches were just gorgeous, and we happened across this neat inukshuk. There were actually two, but this one was just perfectly proportionate, and stunning (in my opinion). Then it was back into the car just in time to miss the start of the rain. And it rained almost all the way back to the cottage. It felt good to do almost nothing on Sunday. I even took a mid-afternoon nap while Dom prepared a delicious pasta sauce from scratch for us.

And that was that. Back to life. And really, it's time to get a job.

Turn And Face The Strange

Where does the time go? First it was week one of unemployment, and then week 2, and then I stopped counting and here we are. I just got back last Friday from a great 5 day Muskoka experience. Adam had 5 friends come up from NY (1 American & 4 Germans) to stay at a cottage on Mary Lake. In the end there were 10 people staying there. We had to keep going into town because we needed at least two 2-4s of beer each day. And of course top ups of liquor for shots in drinking Jenga. We even turned the innocent game of Uno into a drinking game. Good times. And I've connected with some old friends and made some new ones!

I forgot to mention last time that I hit up the Eric Bachmann show with Sim & Spence and two of their friends. It was back at the beginning of July at the Horseshoe. We got there nice and early and got a great front row seat. The crowd was a bit smaller than I anticipated. I thought it would be jam packed sold out, because EB is absolutely phenomenal.

I'm leaving tomorrow for another small journey. Dom and I are going up north to the cottage, and then taking a roadtrip up to Kenora. It's going to be a heck of a drive but it's doable. If we push for Marathon like my last trip maybe we can make a go of it. I think this would be a prime chance to use my new GPS!

Also, I took a snap of an old photo. I thought for a while about which social media medium to use and blogger won.

I've also been working on cleaning up around here. I feel like I've accomplished a lot but when I turn around it's still overwhelming. I sent my great aunt a picture of my place today, but from several months ago. I was inspired by the clear surfaces from that image to get my act in gear. Maybe when I'm done, and back from tripping around, I'll have a little party? That's always a better idea than turns out in practice.

Hello!

It has been a long while. I've been a bad blogger, if I can even call myself that. A lot has changed since my posting. I'm now unemployed. I'm into week two. I have good days, full of productivity, and then I have slack days filled with back to back episodes of shows I have already watched in full. I'm hoping I can take the last few hours of today and turn it into a good day.

I made some chili yesterday, and I think I'll be eating chili for the next week, and that's with having put two ziploc containers full in the freezer. The reason it's ok is because each meal will probably come in at about $2-$3 a plate. It actually felt good to do some bulk cooking, though I was sweating up a storm. It's just batshit crazy hot in here sometimes. I can't even wash the dishes without breaking a sweat, let alone cook a meal. The only time it becomes slightly bearable is when a breeze comes through the front window, and I feel slightly alive again.

I've made a little something of my "time off". Last Thursday I went to the zoo with Jackie and Kyle, which was fan-tas-tic! It was great exercise, and the animals are all so cute. And it was nice to see the elephants before they're shipped away for good. I've been out to see two movies: The Hangover 2, Horrible Bosses. Both were pretty good. I have a coupon I've been trying to use up, and I think Adam and I are going to see Midnight in Paris some night soon. From the sounds of it, and Adam's review from seeing it once already, it is like an adaptation of A Moveable Feast, but told from a different POV. I went for a swim at my parent's house - and I might make a bit more of a habit doing that, because it's such an amazing feeling when it's so hot out.

I've had two major road raging incidents lately. First time I was driving up Church, and I stopped to let someone parallel park. They were taking a bit longer than normal, but lately I've been thinking about how terrible it is to park in traffic, so if I can stop while someone swings in and give them 10 seconds of not worrying about hitting a passer-by I'll do it. This a-hole Canada Post truck behind me starts honking as the parking car is readjusting into my lane. What am I supposed to do?? Drive into the on-coming traffic lane? I could have but I didn't want to so, STFU. When the car finally pulled in I went, and gave the CP drive a queen wave out the window. He sped up and as soon as possible slammed passed me in the right lane yelling out of his open door, as I proudly gave him the finger. He then sped back into my lane, and took a left turn just north of Wellesely almost taking out some crossing pedestrians. When he did that I knew he had some major anger issues. I know I have issues of my own, but waving a finger and almost taking out pedestrians are fairly far spread on the road rage anger spectrum, in my opinion at least. Then yesterday I was dropping Adam off, and as I waited to make my left turn traffic behind me was forced to pile up. Not really my problem. I'm not going to take a left that I feel is unsafe just because someone behind me is inconvenienced for an extra 10 seconds. Finally traffic southbound ended and just as the last car was about to pass me, the cabbie behind me honked. I hadn't even had a chance to turn my wheels and he was bloody honking at me. I went right away, but I also screamed out my window "I'M FUCKING GOING." Hopefully his window was down as well. It's just getting worse and worse to drive these days. While I was still working I was taking the QEW home one night, and the speed of traffic was 90km along the Kipling collectors stretch. This crazy woman comes up behind me and then starts throwing her arms up in the air in frustration. So I threw my arms up in the air in return. And then she signals out "1-0-0" to which I responded with a finger of choosing displayed proudly into the rear view. When the passing lane opened up she finally zipped past me as collectors merged back in with express, and then we all slowed down to 50km. So big clap for the daft cow that rode my ass for no reason, and then saved herself 2 seconds by zooming into a back log of traffic. These people make me want to never drive again. But I'm too lazy for that.

Anyways. Happy thoughts right? I should try to get at least one good thing done today. Peeeeace.

SUN TV - ha!

This is how credible SUN TV is:



A "journalist" taking a moment out to pitch their favourite arthritis medicine. It's like a really bad CNN. And that's a pretty low bar already.

Tip

Here's a hot tip for you - make sure none of your passwords are too embarassing, in case you ever need a friend to log on to an account to check messages for you.

Pun fully intended.

Ugh.

She Touched My Chin

Something extremely disturbing happened at work the other day. It should be no surprise based on my subject line. A woman at work touched my chin in an overly creepy fashion, and I felt extremely violated. From the beginning - my job at work was internally and externally posted after I told my manager I didn't want to continue with them after my contract ended. This woman who's working a temp position came up to me and asked if I would go over the job posting with her. I was more than happy to do that, and I thought it was really commendable of her to seek out extra help because she really wanted the job. We sat down once and she was completely unprepared. I kept asking her what her questions were and she had nothing. We had to get back to work so we said we'd sit down again. She asked me to make notes on the job posting, and I said, when we sit down tell me what your questions are and we can review them. A few weeks ago she sees me in the kitchen and says she's ready to sit down again. Then she asks if I will look at her resume and tell her what applies to this job. I said, "No I won't do that." She said, "I don't mind." And I replied with, "I do not want to do that." I'm not her bloody job counsellor. If she wants career guidance she can pay someone for that. Later that day we sit down she says, "I left my questions at home," which I knew was a total crock, she just didn't want to prepare. We went through all of the requirements for the job piece by piece and felt like it was a really good sit down. At the end she quiety says, "I also brought my resume..." to which I replied, "No, I'm not looking at it" and I practically walked out at that point. I'm doing you a favour, take a hint already. Come the following Monday, I'm sitting at my desk minding my own business and she comes by and leans in and touches my chin and says, "I'm going to take you out for a coffee." That's right, she touched my chin. The first time I sat down with this woman was the first time I had met her. I had to ask her what her name was. And now she thinks we're close enough for her to touch me? I don't think so. Everything about that meeting just screamed to me not right for the job. If she gets the job they'll be in for a treat I'm sure.

I had a great Victoria day weekend up north. Nik and I headed up after work on Friday. We stopped south of Argyle for some dinner & breakfast food. On Saturday we picked up the rest and settled in for a nice relaxing 3 day weekend. We watched some movies, and I sat down by the lake while Nikki fished. Finally after the rain on Sunday she finally started catching some. We had delicious breakfast sandwiches in the morning and marinated steak in the evening. We both took turns cooking and cleaning so effortlessly that it felt like such a fair split of responsibilities. That's usually not the case for weekend getaways, so it was nice.

I felt like I was coming down with something yesterday. Today I'm not sure if it's sickness or allergies. Or maybe if I'm lucky both. I totally bailed on Doors Open yesterday, and I bailed on going on last night, and I'm bailing on Doors Open again today. I've had a pretty stressful week, so whatever. All I know is that I must do a grocery shopping today. I have been out of food all week and eating the most bizarre things to sustain myself.

Maybe We Could Make This Work

I just got back from a Mother's Day brunch at the Yacht Club. It was actually nice lunch. We had a political discussion that didn't end in cursing and hair pulling. I didn't do anything at all yesterday so I'm hoping to getting a few things in order tonight. I have a huge load of clean clothes that need floating. There's a bit of a build up of dishes that needs tackling, and I'm hoping to do a bit more reading. I sat up front for about 20 minutes but late afternoon is a tough one with the sun. But damn it's gorgeous out right now. I bet it's great up north too (S&S). I can't wait to go up north myself for the 2-4.

A few weekends ago I met up with Simona and Spencer and Mike at the Charlotte Room for a little party. I finally got to meet some really cool coworkers of Simona's. Plus I've never been to the C-Room before, it's very chill. I of course, had to start the evening on a great note by locking myself out of my place. So instead of going to his party Spence drove up my spare set of keys. Then I just took a ride down with him and transitted back. When he handed me my keys I told him it was his birthday present, and he was welcome.

I also fit a visit in with Nikki in Guelph. I can't remember what we made for dinner, I think it was butter chicken. There's a few things that we usually cycle between and butter chicken is one of them. Nikki also makes a mean pad thai and sheppard's pie. We also tried enchilladas a while ago - they were SO good. Sour cream chicken enchilladas. We subbed out green chilis for green peppers to keep the spice level down but it worked.

I've been meaning to update more regularly. Every time I see something funny or something funny happens I think I'll write about it but then apathy sets in and I don't. I saw a great senior walking along bloor at 11:00pm one night wearing a balloon hat and holding a balloon animal. I finally beat the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on my phone, TWICE. I almost got t-boned but some asshole on Oakwood. I went to see Peter Bjorn and John at Lee's Palace on Friday. This one-woman-band Bachelorette opened for us. I either loved her songs, or thought they dragged on and didn't make sense. But there were a few that I thought were really great. PB&J was really great. Though for a show with doors at 9pm and one opener seems a bit shit for the show to go until 1am. I think that's just so Lee's can make some beer money. We got there nice and early and grabbed the three stools behind the sound/lighting guys. Perfect seats, great set, great night!

I guess that's all. Summer is upon us - woo!

There's A Bathroom On The Right

It's been an interesting few days. I feel like I'm coming back to a good place. Now I want to spend time with my friends and I don't always want to spend time alone. Last weekend our family and my aunt went to Newmarket to visit our Great Aunt for a special dinner at her retirement home. The next day was the funeral for my Great Great Aunt. It was at St. George-On-The-Hill right by Dundas and Royal York. I often took notice of that church the times I would drive down Dundas, thinking I had never been there before. Turns out my GGA had her 80th birthday party there, but I would only have been about 11 so I don't blame myself for forgetting that one.

I also ended up in Oakville last Saturday. I met Jak at her job and then we went to the Arms. It had been forever since I had seen her last. Hopefully that won't happen again this summer. She told me the best misheard lyric ever. Her friend's girlfriend thought "There's a bad moon on the rise" is "There's a bathroom on the right." It came up because the entertainment was playing some CCR. It oddly did sound like bathroom on the right, of course that would make very little lyrical sense.

I went out to dinner with my family in Roncies last night. I say Roncies because I'm terrified of spelling the neighbourhood in full. I think I'd like living in Roncies, once they get their construction issues worked out of course. We went to the restaurant Gate 403 and had dinner with some live jazz. I'm not a big fan of PWYC jars being passed around. It makes me want to choose a place without live music just to avoid it. It's like choosing between two restaurants and one has one of those annoying washroom attendants. I'll wash my own hands thank you, and I'll tip the band if I feel like it. Driving home from dinner I passed this small church that had so many people attending that a line up of people was spilling onto the roads, and a cop had to direct traffic through the one available lane. He did a terrible job by the way. He told me to come forward and then walked away and someone turned right into the lane I was in and almost hit me. If you're going to direct traffic don't stop half way. My brother just attended a funeral for a work friend's family member and he said the church was filled to the brim. Standing room only, with a large group of people in a separate room with a sound feed, and still people on the streets. So when I passed my own overflowing church I immediately thought, "Who died?" Of course about a minute later it hit me, "That's right, Jesus died."

I just got home from lunch with my dad's family. Some nitwit teenager side swiped my dad's car. We took his information and went to the police station after lunch to find out what the procedure is for reporting etc. If it hasn't happened to you before it's all very new. And hopefully it doesn't happen to someone too many times in their life. Honestly this kid wanted to get out of a stalled left lane and he swung into our lane as we were passing. My dad swerved out of the way but he just kept going and scraped across three side panels. Of course now that we didn't call the cops to the scene my dad might be f-ed for insurance, I'm not sure. Neither of us had been in an accident before.

Tonight is the Sim/Spence/Mike dig and then Sunday I finally get to rest for the day. For now I think I might just take a nap, because I can.

Memo Most Foul

I think I've gotten to a place where I've stopped caring about the obnoxious work environment I have chosen to participate in. I had a discussion with this girl today and she said a few of things that are true. A lot of people live close to the office, and we get a paycheque every two weeks. And those are two big things for everyone. Except for me, I don't live close, and I have to put in way more time to get less pay than everyone else. Sooo...yeah. Today the women in our office walked into the bathroom to find an updated "Bathroom Hygeine" memo. Most of the information was the same from the previous memo, but this time they added something to the effect of: "Don't forget to clean up any blood or fecal matter from the seat." So next time I have a client in the office and they need to use the washroom they are going to get a nice laminated reminder that the women in our office shit on the seat and don't clean it up. I actually heard the incident that prompted this was much worse, but regardless the memo should be distributed and not posted.

There's been a lot of buzz around Toronto about Ford cleaning up the graffiti. The Torontoist posted the best randomly spotted photo on their blog. I would buy that if it was a poster. I would also buy this: this. I think he's a fool for focusing on such a moot point. He's clearly waging a war that he's destined to lose. He doesn't recognize the artistic merit in 50% of the graffiti out there. And also, Toronto is never going to be small town clean, get over it.

Two days in a row, woof, I'm tired.

Exqueeze Me, Baking Soda

I've decided that to spite my company for lying on their test results (unconfirmed) I'm going to spend the last 15 minutes of my paid work day to write a blog entry. I worked from home today because I woke up at 5 this morning with a broken poop shute. Yeah, I went there. I decided it wasn't worth the discomfort and public humiliation of going into work so I logged in from home. I do have to go into work tomorrow for two major events so I'm hoping I'm fully recovered by then.

I suppose it's been a while since my last confession. I spent a lot of time at home this past month. And yet, I've accomplished very little. I'm sure my history on netflix would show hours spent watching really stupid shows, that I would insult while watching yet always hit the "Next Episode" button.

My Great Great Aunt passed today. She was 97 and a real trooper. She had this great family bday party last summer. Everyone was there, even one of my cousins that was constantly abroad. She sat down at a table surrounded by presents with a piece of cake in front of her. Her eyes had this strange glossiness to them and I couldn't believe that just a few months prior to that she had her car taken away. It reminds me of when my nana had her license taken away. The driving instructor said she didn't check her mirrors enough to which she replied, "What's the point, I can't even see out of this eye anyways." Classic nana.

My neighbours downstairs are moving out. I can't say I'll miss the wafting of pot smoke, and slamming of doors at all hours. I probably have my own annoying habits, like I drop stuff on the floor a lot, but it's not on purpose. And I walk around practically on tippy toes just so I don't annoy them. Maybe the new people will be friendly. Who knows, I don't really care either way. As long as the new people aren't worse.

I went down to Cherry Beach with Sim and Spence finally. We walked out to the end of the leash free and took a seat while Jas and Banders played with all the other puppies. I think the white poodle was a favourite for, for both of them. This one dog was hilarious as he carried a large rock around in his mouth. A rock that would be about twice the size of an average clenched hand. The owner took the rock away from the dog, and walked down towards the lake. The dog followed with eager anticipation. The rock was lobbed and as it hit the water the dog ran full speed to fetch it. I had almost forgotten about the whole thing when low and behold the dog reappeared on the path with a giant rock on its mouth. I couldn't tell for certain if it was the same one or slightly larger. Across the street in the West lot, they have a movie set for Silent Hill set up. Sim linked me to some BlogTO shots that were super creepy. We were joking about 5am being the only time the set would be open. You don't always get a chance to be on a movie set like this - maybe we should do it.

I also went out for some Real Jamaican food yesterday. I've only been surrounded by Roti for the past 20 months, it's about time. I had the Curry Goat, it was de-lish.

So what's next. I haven't read anything since Atlas Shrugged and I'm feeling lazy about that. The nice weather is nearly upon us, that's good. And, that's about it. Ciao for now.

Hey You, It's Me

Life is a real rollercoaster right now, and I'm in a loop-de-loop not knowing which direction is up. The only good news is that all roller coasters have a beginning and an ending. I'm waiting for that ending to come, hoping it will be soon.

I'm trying to be productive this weekend. I finally finished unpacking my bedroom today. Only took me 19 months. That must be a new record, since I've never lived anywhere this long before. My bedroom is so bare and it echos a lot more. The last part will be to clean up my window ledge filled with junk that I've opted to keep. I found a lot of missing single socks under my bed, so that's good. Once I've put away my folded laundry I might take a picture. By cleaning up the moving boxes I've officially removed my default unfolded laundry dump zone. We'll see what leads to. Tomorrow I'll do a fridge clean and my desk area and this place is going look a lot better than it has for the past while. The fridge shouldn't be too bad, I'm pretty good at dumping stuff before they start to grow cultures.

Work is less than favourable right now. I have so much going on at my desk, and I'm terrified that I will drop something. The good news is that clients act as good reminders when they're expecting something I haven't provided. I guess if projects never went down the shitter they wouldn't need people to manager or coordinate them. All I can say is fingers crossed on successfully resolving my employment dilemma. I did start up the quotes again, and was overjoyed when someone else wrote one on the board instead of me. But I have officially kiboshed the movement. The love is gone.

Time Makes You Bolder

I promised myself when I finished Atlas Shrugged I would do an update....ta-daaa. After I got into the storyline I really enjoyed the book. It's a strange parallel to government and big business today. I think at some point the ending became a foregone conclusion, but up until that point it was delicious literary butter. I picked that book up on January 1, so it took me over 2 month to finish. Not reading non-stop obviously, but with a certain effort. And now I've finished just in time for the movie to come out! The movie is just Part I, so technically I would have been ready some time in January, but never-the-less I'm tickled pink at the timing. If Adam hadn't suggested a long book read it probably never would have left my shelf. And now I know that I can accomplish anything! (Anything book related). Next up is Barney's Version, and I will abstain from seeing the movie until I'm done.

I had a pretty low key month. I got out a few times. I'm still updating my Toronto Adventures to show new places I've been to. This time around I added WAYLA Bar, Liberty Bistro, and Artist Project. The last two were from a weekend outing with my mother and her best friend. She treated me to lunch at the Bistro and then had picked up some tickets for this great art event. There were ~100 artists on display, each with their own booth to present a collection of their work. I picked up a few cards to check them out later. My mom has promised my brother and I both an original piece of artwork (within a certain budget). My brother already has his piece, but I've rarely started my own search. The only framed artwork I have up on my walls are from posters I picked up at various "Poster Sales" at Sid Smith. And of course my Grandma's old ink paintings from Bali. I can't believe my mom was going to sell them.

Tonight I'm going down to see the last showing of the play Adam's producing. I've been to the Berkley Theatre several times thanks to Adam, but also once for a singing performance put on by my mom's friend's kid. I can't remember the specifics, but it was good. I'm also finally getting my laptop back. It was a last minute loan-out that lasted a week. I will be happy to re-retire this hunk of junk and reenter the world of streaming video.

Also, I don't know how many more fights about what's snow and what's sleet I can take. I also don't know how much more of that place I can take. All I can do is be strong.

Newsflash...

...I now have a beard.

The Real McCoy

I just got back from renewing my plate sticker. I like to live dangerously when it comes to traffic citations. I think technically the plate is only valid until the first of the month, but I like to pretend it's valid up until the birthday of the owner. I also replaced my ownership which was two addresses and one owner ago. The lady was like, "Where's the other part, the part that says you own the car?" I was like, "If it's not what I've given you I don't think I have it." $10 is the price you pay for being an idiot, which I am ok with. I extended for two years, just incase Ford rolls back the licensing fee cut.

Yesterday was a bit of a shit show. I picked up Adam and we did some shopping for him at Winners. Then instead of coming home we went down to Cherry Beach, first stopping at the Church&Front Timmies so I could get a drink. As I'm walking out of the Tims I witness a cab backing into my car and hitting my bumper. I checked for damage and didn't see any, but I was still plenty pissed. I didn't even know what to do. I asked for his number and he said something like, "I'm a taxi driver." Ok buddy, that's well established, but if I find a crack I want to be able to find you. So I just took his taxi information down and was done. It's not the end of the world, but it's still not a nice thing to see happen. Adam mentioned that if I wasn't there I never would have known, which helped me calmed down.

Nik and I hit up Niagara this weekend past. Drove in Saturday morning and stayed the night. After we checked in we taxied down to Clifton hill and took a walk down to the falls. I snapped a neat shot on my phone camera of the American Falls, they have this oddly beautiful ice formation that sits in front of the falling water. I'm not sure if that's how it is every year, but it was neat. After the Falls we went to the Hershey and Coke store. Then we took a stroll through the midway but we weren't feeling it so we moved on. Gift store, Sugar Mountain, and finally a tour through the wax museum of criminals. We walked home after that and ordered a gluten free pizza and had some drinks. A bit later we taxied down to Fallsview and blew about $30 each. I emailed Fallsview to complain about their faulty slot machines. They flipped Nik's bet to maximum (10 credits vs 1 credit) on more than one occassion, and they flipped my credit bet from 25c to 50c, and then later flipped my bet to maximum as well. We wouldn't be sore losers if we lost the money fair and square. And odds are we would have lost it anyways. So I await a response from Fallsview. And if I'm lucky a gift cert. But I'm not counting on that.

I'm about 400 pages away from finishing Atlas Shrugged. I told Adam that I'm not sure if part of my love for this book is cognitive dissonance. Why else would I read a 1069 page book if I wasn't enjoying it? All joking aside it's a great book. And I fear I may feel a small void in my life when I'm done.

Looking forward to drinks tonight with S&S.

Annnnd, done.

Nights of Make-Believe, Days I Don't Believe

No matter how many improvements my landlord makes I still feel like there is an ever growing list of annoyances at this place. My showerhead still screeches like 1000 dying rodents every time I take a shower. If I'm lucky it will stop half way and I will be able to shower in peace. But that's usually not the case. He waits about 5 days after a snow fall to shovel, and by then the next fall is just around the corner. On occassion he will not take the trash or recycling to the curb and either I will have to take the bin out or it will not go out at all. The tenants downstairs seem like lazy bums when it comes to split responsibilities. Granted it should only be split between one, but step up, please. And now the big winner is the dying smoke alarm battery that has been beeping every 30 seconds for the past 2 DAYS. I don't even know what to do. My landlord is out of town so we have to put up with it until he returns tomorrow or the battery finally dies. We'll see how much longer I can maintain my sanity with this going.

I had some great Indian food for lunch with a coworker. There's a great veggie Indian place just south of Matheson and Mavis called Doaba. Mmmm, the food is amazing and so cheap. I actually found myself smiling today at work. I feel so much more like I used to. And that's something I haven't felt in well over a month. That being said my general attitude has not changed, they have made their bed.

Dawn had a great bday at Insomnia on Tuesday. I picked up Adam and Jess and headed down at about 8pm. Most of her friends were from work, which made me jealous. I wish I had more close friends at work. Anyways, she has some really great friends. I had a really great talk with this one girl about Canada and US in terms of politics, and geography and travel, and human rights. It was really fantastic.

I finally passed the halfway point in Atlas Shrugged. I'm starting to think that this might be one of the most important and socially relevant books I've ever read. It was personally a bit slow in the beginning but Rand has just picked it up and taken the book in some really interesting directions. She of course is a little kooky with some pretty harsh views. Objectivism is a bit of a tough pill to swallow sometimes, but it makes you think.

The dying battery is starting to double beep, perhaps this is progress? Just die already.

Do You Have Any Of Those Way Small Harmonicas?

It's been a while again. I used to be better at this. PS to last time, the french toast was AMAZING. I tried it last Sunday by myself at my place and I could not come even close to how good Adam's toast was. I just need to work on my mastery of the culinary arts. Maybe it made a difference that I had to use water in my egg mix instead of milk. And not because I'm stinking poor, but my milk had just expired. And I don't mess with expiry dates.

It's been a pretty stressful two weeks. My attitude at work started to change as the days went on and my contract offer was not arriving. Eventually, early last week, I gave up. I took my defiant and rebellious "Julie's Contract Ends" off the shared wall calendar and I started to clean out my desk. I'm not sure anything that happened or will have happened after that point will make me want to stay. I have 4 days to decide.

I started writing quotes again. The mood struck me to start again so I thought why not. I'm still writing them down to keep a small log of what has gone up.

I had a pretty great weekend this weekend past. Friday night was drinks night with some friends from work. We hit up Sneaky Dees and followed that with Andy Pool Hall and Free Times Cafe! I've added Andy Pool Hall as my first 2011 Toronto Adventure. I really enjoyed being able to look back on my 2010 list to see what new things I had been up to. Then on Saturday a dinner in Oakville turned into an impromptu overnight at a cottage in Midland. Jackie's boyfriend's friend was having a birthday gathering and Jak invited me up with her. Back to back nights of not being D.D. is a pretty special treat for me. We got almost lost in Moonstone in search for a gas station. PS - Moonstone doesn't have a gas station. Sunday night I almost cracked a beer out of habit.

I must exit to complete a quick grocery shopping. I shall try to update more frequently. And for myself, I'm going to try to stop being so depressed and depressing, and then maybe I'll have more to write about.

XO

Why Hello There

Long time no type. Did you miss me?

It's been a hectic new year. But mostly I've just been lazy and rather lackadaisical about keeping up here. I've done a few things, but also spent a handful of time at home alone. With Adam being away for almost 3 weeks late night trips to the lake were cut down significantly. And by significantly I mean completely.

I've finished my quote-bombing at work. It was really fun for a time, almost two months, but I think it ran its natural course and it's done. I even got some cool replies from people. I could tell who it was so I can only wonder if they knew it was me. I'd like to take this chance to document all of the quotes I chose:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost

"All that we are is a result of what we have thought." - Buddha

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else." - Albert Einstein

"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." - Napolean Bonaparte

"The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely impossible lacks." - Douglas Adams

"Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth." - Paul Krugman

"A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value." - Isaac Asimov

"If one does not understand a person one tends to regard him as a fool." - Carl Jung

"When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced course of action you should take - choose the bolder." - Ezra Pound (have a drink and think again)

"When one has much to put into them, a day has a hundred pockets." - Nietzsche (hundred 42 - DA)

"With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere." - CS Lewis (But nothing everything ends somewhere.)

"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite." - William Blake

"There is an eloquence in true enthusiam." - Edgar Allan Poe

"Few people can see genius in someone that has offended them." - Robertson Davies

"Being asked what kind of animal you'd like to be is a trick question; you already are one." - Douglas Coupland (but maybe not the animal you'd like to be)

"The last refuge of the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world." - Leonard Cohen (otherwise known as the lazy people)

And that's that. It was fun while it lasted, but no more stealthy runs across the office in efforts to remain anonymous. I wanted to save up a good one for my contract ending but I just don't have it in me anymore. That's another thing, I might be done with this office come February. I'm pratically begging them to let me know either way. Today the permanent people got a bonus which just set me off. It was 4pm and I just wanted to pack up and leave. Like my efforts are not appreciated as much as the rest of my coworkers. Obviously some of them work on projects that are more advanced than I could handle, but I'm on the ground doing a lot of work with a lot of different custom applications. And when things go wrong I'm right in there troubleshooting with the higher ups, solutioning the seemingly impossible.

My landlord has been in and out of my apartment this week fixing my shower. A few days ago he did some soldering and left two windows open to air it out. My place was FREEZING. With the space heater running it hovered at 14C for about two hours before I finally gave up and turned the oven on and left it open. It's the poor man's furnace, except I'm sure it's not cheap. He did make some nice advances on the shower, except he said it was "fixed" and when I run the water to the showerhead the faucet leaks all the cold water and all I'm left with is scalding hot water. I quickly wet my hair trying to avoid getting burned, but it was too painful so I had to rinse the shampoo out under the faucet. That doesn't work well with long hair. Ugh.

Tomorrow morning Adam's coming over and I'm going to make french toast, with cut up fruit. A nice cheap alternative to Futures all-day-breakfast, except there's no way it could be as tasty, dang.

That's all she wrote.

Ho Ho Ho

Santa was very good to me this year. I am very hard to buy for because I hardly ever get anything for myself and I don't do well accepting presents. But my family did a bang up job this year.

I am sooo excited to be off work for two more days. It's been a long December and I'm glad 2010 is coming to a finish. I think all in all it's been a pretty great year. I had a fun summer, great family visits, and the forming of new late night coffee traditions. All of which I am extremely grateful for. I should probably set some goals for myself for 2011. Maybe I'll make a list. I find I do well with lists.

Last night was Sim's annual boxing day getogether. It was a most rad evening. I was a bit late cause I napped after I got home from 2 days with family. I love them, but I guess they wear me out. I jest, it's probably just because I spent the last night on the couch instead of in the bed downstairs. The couch is just more comfortable but it's still a couch. It's always phenomenal seeing everyone from high school back in the same room. And expected unpleasantries ended up being alright, at least for me they did >_<. Today I'm going to finish my current book, and I think do some cleaning up. I don't know where this mess comes from. I suppose with all the time I've been spending at home it adds up faster.

Peace & love.

We Got Our Backs To The Wall

This morning was another wake n bake morning for my neighbours downstairs. I'm surprised my landlord hasn't put the kibosh on that. I had an early start today, at least in weekend terms. I got up and put some laundry on and did most of my dishes. I followed that up with a full laundry fold and a full rearrangement of my bookshelf. They're in alphabetical order by author, which unfortunately looks atrocious but it will just have to do. I hung my grandma's Bali ink paintings, watched a movie, and finally got back on the stationary bike in my room, it had certainly been long enough. And now I'm going to grocery shop and send out some resumes. Not bad for a lazy Sunday.

It's been a crazy busy week for me, starting with Son's visit from the Loo. She crashed on Sunday. And then on Monday I drove to work with Adam and he borrowed my car during the day. Then I dropped him off downtown and met up with Son for dinner at Friendly Thai in the Junction. Great Chicken Pad Thai. Tuesday I dropped Son off in High Park and took an alternate route into work. Some numbnut couldn't wait 2 seconds for me to make contact with a stopped car and cut me off by taking a left turn from behind me. I leaned on the horn and started to curse like a sailor. It didn't help that my horn was frozen and made more of a mrraaahhh mrrrraahhh noise than a meeep meeep noise. Wednesday I went to see Brian who was in on a visit from Brooklyn. I saw a handful of people from res which was great. Thursday I went to Disgraceland with Son/Tanya/Jess & Christine. I'd never been before but it just another Bloor St indie dive bar, with a bit of an Elvis twist (deep fried mars bars). Following that I went to bid Adam/Matt/Ashley happy trails as they were to be departing for NYC the next day. I took a pass on joining them. It just wasn't the right time for my first trip to NYC. I would need at least 3 full days to get that full travel satiation feeling. Friday was my day off. Saturday was a party at Ed's, and today was today.

I wore a Christmas sweater to work in hopes of lightening the mood a little bit. Most people just avoided eye contact or gave me unsatisfied stares. It was a joke people, a fucking joke. It just reaffirms my belief that I don't belong in that office. I got two laughs from some close coworkers. One of them admitted to me that for a split second he questioned whether or not I was serious, but that second quickly passed. He said that between my halloween costume and my sweater I should be nominated for person of the year at my company. Too bad there is no such designation.

I found another response to a quote on Friday. I think I know who's writing them now. And I'm sure she knows that it's me writing the original ones, as hers is the only office I need to slip past to get into the Conference Room. And she is most often in her office while I unstealthly sneak past. It feels really satisfying that someone is responding to my break out from eternal staledom that permiates from the very soul of the office. The response this time was "42 - DA". And there is one very clear person that quotes Douglas Adams as frequently as possible so I'm being a super detective and putting 2 and 2 together. I am pretty smart. Fairly smart. Kind of smart....I'm not TOO dumb. It's going to be a busy holiday season. It's kind of the time of year that everyone comes out of the woodworks and says, "Hey, I still exist, how about you?"

Murry Crissmas everyone. And by everyone I mean my two and only loyal readers. <3

I've Got Troubles Enough

Adam and I were saved by a van full of TTC workers on Thursday night. In typical fashion we were enjoying a coffee down by lake. I guess normally either we don't stay that long or we don't leave the radio running. By the time it came to leave the battery was almost completely drained. It only adds irony to the situation that earlier we had been joking about knocking on windows, and now we were really going to have to do it. As soon as we got out of the car we saw another one pulling in, so Adam went up to him first. He made something up about his battery not being good, so there went that. Then he realized there was a TTC van sitting in the round about. The van turned out to be jammed full of young guys in TTC jackets, all very willing to help out. I attached the cables to my battery and the driver did his and in no time flat we were up and running. I'm not sure if I mentioned that I recently gave a random guy a jump. Luckily I wasn't alone otherwise him luring me to the back side of the George Brown parking lot might have been a bit frightening. When that happened I quickly declared I had no problem providing a jump as long as he did all the connecting. But this time I was fully confident in being able to connect at least my own cables. Soon after the jump all remaining cars had left the lot. We could have been stranded at Cherry Beach. I really need to renew my CAA membership!

Before Cherry Beach I went to Sheridan College with my mother to see a performance of The Drowsy Chaperone. I'm usually not terribly keen on musicals, but this one was very enjoyable. The musical itself apparently first launched at the Rivoli and then went onto the Fringe Festival and then went to Broadway. I was going to say it has a great Canadian sense of humour to it, but apparently the authors were English. I suppose both are dry.

Tea with my mom last week was nice. We sat and chatted for a while. Had some cut up melon with some amazing yogurt. Good times.

I slept in today, and then after waking up I moved to the living room and took a nap. I am well rested but feeling surprisingly sleepy. I'm just going to bum around the house today, do some light cleaning, laundry, etc. This is the first morning in two weeks that I've been able to sleep in and be lazy so I'm soaking it in.

And last thing - Simona sent me a great link the other day. I've sent my email, and I think it's a very worthy cause. http://action.davidsuzuki.org/C-311.

Chasing The Day Away

My mother is coming for a visit tomorrow. Nothing makes me clean like a visit from a parental unit. They haven't been to my place very often since I moved in and perhaps they are feeling a tinge of guilt. Part of me thinks they are checking up on me but I'm too old for that, I think. I have a lot more to do because the plan is for this place to be spotless. And on top of it all I need to do a grocery shopping. I'm definitely procrastinating. On the bright side - I found an umbrella! To think I came very close to purchasing a new one.

I went into work today. On Wednesday our manager asked us if we would be free for work on the weekend. ONLY the two contract employees (myself included) volunteered their time. It was nice to see people from all sorts of depts coming in to lend a hand. The entire product development team was there. Anyways. Hopefully crisis mode will be over soon.

After work I went out for a coffee with Adam down at Queen & Davenport. That neighbourhood always reminds me of the Queen West Man video. New look, new outlook. Sadly I'm unable to find a link, it's a goodie from almost 5 years ago. I thought everything was supposed to last on the internet forever? After Adam left I sat and read A Moveable Feast for a while. We are gearing up for a Long Book Read in January. Normally that would not warrant capital letters for all words, but at over 1000 pages Atlas Shrugged is going to be a feat worthy of title case. Adam's going to read War and Peace, and if either are any good we might switch. Maybe for Jan 2012.

I was going to put up my tree and decorate it, but the lights seem to be broken. I can't remember if that happened last year or if maybe that happened just now when I plugged it into the space heater outlet and shorted everything. Either way I have to decided what to do with it.

I should get back to it. Grocery shop, laundry fold, sweep, scrub, and then sleep.

And Miles To Go Before I Sleep

I interviewed today for my own position, but permanent. I have to say it may have been my worst interview yet. I'm dumbfounded that there were questions that I was unable to answer. "Rate your knowledge of printers and what print stock is appropriate for each?" I'm sorry, is this an interview for the print room or project coordinator?? Right, thanks. I left the interview wanting to quit my job. I do have a sense that the questions were bullshit. I don't know the code for the SQL queries the data team uses. I ask them for data and I get it. I ask the print room to print, and I let them decide what the most appropriate machine is. I also had a few random bursts of inappropriateness that I would rather not get into. I need to find another job and fast. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

I actually had a talk with my manager about a few of my projects that are going to be disseminated amongst the other PMs when I leave. My manager noted that there's still a chance that I could be renewed, and barely acknowledging the ridiculousness of that statement I said, "I'm not depending on it" and carried on with my thought. If they are going to treat me like I'm disposable I'm going to start acting like I am.

My culture slam experiment has been a complete failure. As far as I know there's no buzz in the office. As far as I can tell no one has even noticed or cares. I almost gave up tonight, but to cheer myself up I slipped into the conference room and wrote, "The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the improbable lacks. - Douglas Adams." Of course I quote it as DA so if anyone actually takes interest they have to investigate further to find out who it's by. I think if the Solutions Manager were to ever notice she'd probably piece that it's me that is always slyly slipping past her office and into the conference room only to emerge a minute later with an unnecessary smirk on my face.

I've had a busy week. Jak came over on the weekend and we drank whiskey and watched Netflix. The free month has ended and the landlord has not indicated that he's going to sign up. I might get my own free month in the meantime. On Monday Adam came over and we watched a movie and then headed down to our possible new hang out, the park just West of Lakeshore and Windermere. The legal turnaround on Lakeshore leads straight into the parking lot if you can manage to drive straight across. It's a nice stretch of lot that faces straight on to the lake, and if you're lucky enough to grab an early parking spot there's a nice view of the tower. And then I met up with a few friends at the Duke of York on Tuesday night. We had a few beers and good laughs. I missed out on a few earlier gatherings and I needed to make up for lost time, so that was good.

Adam and I actually made it back to the new park again tonight. I had high hopes to tackle a few projects around the house but I didn't get back in until about 9:30. I had to stop at the gas station at Bathurst and Dupont. They always have the best gas prices. Tonight it was like 105.9 which is more than 2c cheaper than every other station I passed on the way home. I think I may just buckle down and do some cleaning before I sleep. I want to set up my little xmas tree too. I'll have to take a picture once it's done.

Lastly, I spent Sunday reading and I finished up Gods Behaving Badly. It was "recommended" by an "amazing person who knows all these cool books." I spent the first 200 pages wondering where the heck the story was going, and the final 80 pages wishing for the swift arrival of the last page. I may have entered into that book with more than a slight bias against it, but I'm just reporting the facts.

I think I have sufficiently unloaded. C'est tout.

Good FOR You

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!

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.

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.

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.

Halloween 2010

I took the prize at my company this year for the Halloween costume contest. I had been planning this costume for months but only put my plan into action earlier this week. I actually didn't start sewing until 7pm last night after I got home. I went to see Adam at 8 and he helped me make up for lost time by doing one of the arms. That saved me so much time, plus I picked up a waaay faster stitch from him. I actually need to go over the costume again tomorrow and sew up some of the seems that are falling apart. The last time I did anything remotely exciting for Halloween was 5 years ago. And 30 minutes before leaving the house I exclaimed to my mother that I had nothing to wear so she leant me a pair of crutches and a head bandage and I went as a fight victim. But Inflatable Tube Woman still takes the cake.

I'm in the middle of a thing with Elections Ontario right now. If I can't prove my political donation to a friend's campaign was cashed within the campaign fundraiser period they are going to keep the money. I'm 99% certain I gave the cheque well in advance of the cut-off time. Even if I come back with the proof and nothing happens I'm going to my MPP and then I'm going to tell off Elections Ontario. And if I don't like their response I'm going to write a letter to the editor somewhere. B-S.

Weekend Update

I've been remembering a lot more dreams than normal lately. It's strange to wake up and have such a vivid recollection of another world that exists only in my mind. Hopefully this trend won't keep up.

This week got off to a really great start with two tickets to the Leafs/Islanders game. Sim and I had perfect timing with our meet up at Union, and after picking up some snacks that we successfully smuggled into the ACC we took our seats just in time for the national anthems. That's actually one of my favourite parts of any sporting event. The Leafs were in fine form, and if they keep that level of play up they just might make it into the playoffs this year. Their cup record is embarrassing, but more disappointing is the current trend of not even making it to round 1. It was a really close game. With about 3 minutes left we tied it up, but after getting a penalty in OT the Islanders managed an easy victory.

Wednesday was a nice chill games night at Sim's, followed by some drinks at the Fox and Fiddle with a couple of work mates. It's tough working in an office that doesn't really provide me with many friend opportunities. Not many people that live in the city, and even at that most people are married and not looking to hang out with the likes of me. So different from Calgary, but that's ok.

Friday night I went to a late showing of The Social Network with Adam. Our reaction was that it was an ok movie, but the hype is way too high. Maybe it would have been better if it was based on the official story of Mark Zuckerberg. It was definitely rental worthy, but not worth the trip out or the cost of movie ticket. Saturday was a slow day. I finished a book Nik loaned me. It was children's literature, but it was a nice change in pace from the last two 500 pagers I picked up lately. Next on my plate is a book by a Toronto local writer. I read another of his novels that was nominated for the Giller prize a few years back (A Perfect Night to go to China), so I'm looking to this early novel by David Gilmour - Back on Tuesday.

And then there was today. I did some clothes shopping, which I loathe. I picked up some material for my Halloween costume, but I think I might be a metre short. I hope not. And if the construction doesn't work out I'm not going to dress up at all. I was going to buy Nylon but it turns out it's $10 a yard so I went for a more affordable less authentic alternative material. We shall see how it works out. I'm catching up on my laundry and dishes and I'm getting ready to cook up some dinner. I have a photo I want to share, but maybe next time. Adam did some hilarious clipping from a Sun article from a few months ago. The image features Hazel McCallion and another volunteer (an older gentlemen) holding some water bottles and standing in a warehouse of disaster relief goods. The headline from the below article runs along the bottom of the photo and reads, "Scarborough doctors will focus on waterborne diseases." It's really a hoot when you see it.

Googaly Doogaly

I saw something really messed up last night. This kid was trying to get into the show at the Phoenix after the last band was going into their encore (I had stepped outside), and the bouncer was aggressively pushing him back. I understand that they protect the club but it was too much force. I was walking down the exit ramp as it happened and I thought he was going to push this kid into me. I got out just in time as the kid was thrown to the ground with such force that his shoe came off. Yet still he tried to get back up and insist that he had paid $20 and he just wanted to see the show. At this point there was a max of 3 encore song left before the show was over, he fight was fruitless. The kid finally starts to walk away, and I don't know why but as he's 30ft away from the entrance the bouncer walks down the ramp and walks up Sherbourne after him. I didn't see the entire altercation but I saw him pick him up by the scruff of his clothes and shout at him, "Are you scared now? Are you scared now??" And I'm pretty sure after that he pushed him down and walked back to his post. This kid was like maybe 22 and 120lbs at the most. Not a force to be reckoned with by any means, and this guy who was almost 3 times his size was just batting him around like a yarn ball. In the bouncer's defense I heard him repeat a few things the punk kid said. At one point he apparently threatened to stab the bouncer, and at another point he called him the n-word. Both being incredibly stupid and rude. But as soon as the kid had left the property and was no longer a threat to the surrounding patrons I think maybe you should leave your personal feelings aside and let it go. The show itself was fantastic. The Smashers always put on a great show. I think standing and watching music for 5 hours was a bit long, but I had missed my dinner and was cranky. I remember the days with Nik skanking in the pit at Lee's Palace. I should get back into shape so I could do that again.

It's going to be a low key day. I have a book I want to finish, and as always a bunch of cleaning to do, chores to finish, etc.

Lost in Transcendence

Let me just start by saying I do not appreciate being honked at to drive into the oncoming traffic lane to take a left turn. Just because the main street is backed up and everyone else is doing it doesn't mean I don't have the right as a driver to wait until I'm moderately perpendicular to the street in question before I decide to cross traffic. I also apologize to any passenger that is forced to witness my outrageous road rage.

The above incident aside, yesterday was a pretty great day. After a long hour commute home I met up with Adam and we went for pie at Wanda's Pie in the Sky. Probably the best part of the whole thing was being in Kensington. Other than that, I don't think I would ever pay that much money for a slice of coldly serve pie of an average to less than average size. Adam's piece on the other hand was massive, but possibly a fluke as they reached the end his selected pie and couldn't in good conscience serve it as two. I'm usually not underwhelmed by a place that comes so highly recommended, but...meh.

Afterwards we scooted down to Liberty Village to check out an art show I spotted online. It was basically just a small exposition for up and coming talent across Canada, the US, and the UK. Our night was American photographers. The small commercial area we were in was very cute. It was like walking through a hanger, covered ceiling and all, flanked with high end stores and art galleries. We almost missed the boat because I didn't write down the unit number but it wasn't too hard to find. The location was a squarish white room and there were about 6 sets of photos all with their own unique theme. Some were misses but most of them were hits. I especially enjoyed some of the candid shots with their clever titles. Then it was back to Adam's for a movie and an episode of Bored to Death. Great cast, great show. We also watched Lost in Translation the other night, which has shot back up into my all time desert island top 5.

This weekend I'll be spending three days with my family up North. I'm not looking forward to the first few hours before the heat from the space heaters kicks in, but if this weather keeps up maybe it will be alright. I found out my mom is going to butterfly the turkey so it won't take eons to cook. My only response was, "But mama.....the stuffing has to go inside the turkey." I'm pretty sure my childish pleas were willfully ignored.

Time for a quiet night in, accompanied by some clean up time. Al-right.