Don't Be A Coconut

I went to Yorkdale mall this morning to pick up some tickets at Jean Machine. I bought my dad and brother some Rock Lacrosse tickets for Christmas. There was like a $9 service charge each and then $5 processing fee. They made $23 dollars on my single transaction. What in the hell???? How can our system allow for such a monopoly to exist. I hope the refund situation they're going through right now damn near bankrupts them. They are absolute crooks. Also, I hate malls. I tried to find parking near my store, but I was confused by the underground "Valet" parking so I just avoided it. I ended up, in true Julie form, parking at the exact opposite end of the mall. I made my way to Jean Machine, and then stopped in to HMV to see if there was anything I wanted. I picked up a few cheap CDs. I'll consider it an early xmas gift to myself. I hate malls in general. The idea of ultra-consumption drives me nuts. That was my first ever trip to Yorkdale, and I can say with most certainty it will be my last. At least I can hope.

Last night I went to Sim's for some beers. In lieu of going to the Brewery Market at Wychwood Barns, we opted for the cheaper option of buying a fine selection of imported beers to try out. This morning I was admiring Spence's photo of the beers lined up, and it occured to me that we missed a beer! I texted Sim right away, fearing we had left that bottle in the freezer by mistake. Thank goodness that wasn't the case, and it was just missed. At any rate, I'm going to share our beer ratings. Any differing votes appear with a "/". For the most part we all agreed, but in some cases I didn't agree with S&S. And any variance less than .05 as given by Spence will not be shown below... o_O



From left to right, as graded with happy faces up to 10:
Fruli: ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺ (10!)
Traquir Jacobite Ale: ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺ (9)
Lava Smoked Imperial Stout: (0) - seriously
Erdinger Weissbier: TBD ;)
Amsterdam Oranje Weisse: ☺☺☺☺☺/☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺ (5/8)- I'm not a fan of the wheat beers
Christoffel Blond (double hops): ☺☺☺☺/☺☺☺☺☺ (4/5)
Mort Subite Framboise: ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺ (10!)
Lezajsk: ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺ (8)

As you may be able to ascertain, all three of us were quite fond of the raspberry brews. All in all a great night!

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.