Juno

Just got home from watching Juno.
See, it's gotten a lot of press recently, and I'm not sure if it's because leading starlet Ellen Page is Canadian or because it's a good movie (that has gotten 4 Academy Award nominations).
I'm a little confused about what I think of the movie. The fact that I didn't hate it means that it couldn't be all too bad because that's usually how I feel about movies, but I didn't love the movie, so well, that's never the best either.
I enjoyed the quick witted banter. That was the best part for me. I felt like the actors did a good job with their respective roles, although I'm not really sure that Ms. Page did an Oscar worthy performance. It was good, but not the best thing I've ever seen. I thought Jennifer Garner was quite convincing in her role.
I was thrown off by the obvious effort at teenaged slang at the beginning of the movie, because I consider myself quite lingo-forward and I thought that it was a little bit too forced and over exaggerated for who the character turned out to be. They seemed to scale back a bit as the movie went on, which I appreciated. Either that, or I just got used to it.
I thought certain sections/plot lines weren't flushed out enough. Or I wanted to read into certain parts of it, hoping that there was more symbolism in objects or sentences, but it was a pretty literal movie, so that didn't work out so well.
I thought each of the characters were well cast and at the same time did a good job portraying their respective roles.
I didn't really know anything about the movie before seeing it. Vague idea of the plot line, but more went to watch it because of the buzz it was getting. About 15 minutes in, I clued into the fact that it had played at TIFF07, but it must not have gotten any serious recognition because it wasn't on my radar. Strange.
Anyway, I'd recommend the movie. It's quite amusing, I'm sure most people will love it, I'm just not sure why I am not head over heels.
Oh, and the soundtrack was splendid. As was the costume and set design. Ensemble cast = splendid.

Notes from Vancouver

I don't think that there are seagulls in Europe. They look really bizarre for some reason. Or maybe I've seen too many pigeons recently because these seagulls seem like giants. This one had a neck which was the same width as its body and it was abnormally long too.

I miss mountains.

Can't wait to go to Whistler on Saturday!

I turned down "Prague" because I felt a loyalty to "Vancouver". Do I regret it? I don't think so, but I'm confused about next year.

The hunt for a winter coat continues. I think that I'll have to wait until next year.

The hunt for boots also continues. There are too many slouchy boots this season, and I found a beautiful pair on super sale, but do I really need a pair of slouchy boots? I don't have any, but how often to I expect to wear leggings? I am NOT going to skinny pants route. I refuse. And they're suede - Toronto has an obsession with salt. This shouldn't be a dilemma, but it is. I want a simple boot. Remember my Hermes incident? The perfect boot. I found another perfect boot. Laboutin. Crap. Ankle version on super sale for $829 (I wish taxes were included - wait, no, that probably wouldn't make any difference). Calf version on super sale for ~$1000 Ugh. Why does this always happen?

I am definitely a bag person. I need help.

Classics

Sigh - here's a wonderful trip down memory lane.

I feel old

Well turns out Saturday night is when friends of tenants use up the visitor parking in the building because it's free and it's relatively close to the entertainment district.
And the elevator smells like bad cologne.
And girl with hoochie outfits are waiting in the lobby for their friends.
Ugh.

Have you ever wondered..

Or have you ever noticed in subway stations how the floor is usually a smooth tile, but there seems to be a rougher tile which snakes a path around the station?
I re-noticed it today and thought of the train stations in Switzerland with something similar except that the path there has a lot more deeper grooves which run parallel to the direction of the path on it. I never know what they were for (I was pretty sure that they weren't part of the aesthetic design of the station, especially since each station had it and the Swiss are pretty good about making things functional. Anyway, one day, I finally saw what the paths were for. He was almost knocking people over, he was going so fast, but I watched as a blind man used the grooves of the path to guide his white cane along. Moving so fast he obviously trusted where the path would take him and that it wasn't a coincidence that his cane was stuck in one of the grooves. Some of the corners were pretty sharp, so other commuters had to leap out of the way so as to not get hit. Maybe he was late for his train. It was a revelation.
The blind TTC commuters in my memory have not used the path in a similar manner. Perhaps the stations are smaller and they feel comfortable enough not to need to use the pre-designated route (assuming that's what it's for).

Amarula

There are lots of Amarula ads on the TTC streetcars that I take. I forget if they are all over the subway as well. Regardless, while I'm slightly perturbed at the extent of their advertising it amuses me every time I see them because I think of all the drunk and hallucinating elephants wandering around Africa after eating the fruit. While in Kenya, the locals were telling us about the effect of eating the marula fruit and we all laughed.

Ugly Betty

Well, I've found a new show to watch. I'd run out of my regulars and just needed something on in the background that wasn't too intense and wasn't too long (so no movies), and this is the result. I'm at Episode 6 of Season 1 so far. I enjoy it enough to keep going - we'll see if the season finale makes it worth continuing on into Season 2. I guess the one thing about being so behind is that no one's talking about it and so no one's going to ruin the rest of the season for me. At least I hope not. I would be very upset if they did.

Bergo

I just got back from Bergo. I don't believe that I have an ounce of interior design talent in me, but for some reason, I really appreciate it. I love the creativity in the pieces. The lines. The colours. The stuff is so slick. I think it would be really easy for me to accumulate things for the home. I started collecting items before I was earning my own paycheck (and that was a loooong time ago). I remember going through a phase of loving tumblers.
Anyway, I was in the store for a long time. Looking at every single item. Of course there were tons of things there that I would love to have or would love to give away as gifts (might as well spread the fabulousness).
Sentimental me loved seeing products from the design houses that I've come to love including Bodum, Alessi and Pylones. I even saw my Iittala vase which is still sitting in its paper and ribboned box.
What a great store.
You know, I realized that there are more and more of these stores that bring together the best of the best in a particular genre and don't just sell their own "label". As I was walking another store in the area, I was thinking how great it would be to be that person who's sole job is to shop and find the best and most sumptuous items. Yes, I know that this job exists, but I'm not ready to make a complete 360 in my life and go that route.

New favorite

The barosaurus is the coolest thing ever!!! If you don't love the new Dino Gallery at the ROM, you are officially crazy. And Dr. David Evans looks like he's 20 years old.

Insider scoop: Keep your fingers crossed if you want to see Terracotta Warriors. 2010. If it doesn't work out, you'll have to settle for a bunch of gold.

Go figure

I'm looking for a pair of black high-heeled boots that won't look odd if worn under pants (I'm not embracing the skinny jeans fad). An ankle boot is not sufficient for snowy days so those are definitely off of my list of potentials.
I am also searching for a black wool/cashmere coat.
Seeing as how it's end of season, I thought that maybe I'd get lucky and find the best items ever on sale. That, and I never had the chance to go shopping in the past 3 months. Or at least, I didn't make time for it.
Today, I did the Bloor Street circuit. I finally summoned the courage to go into the posh boutiques. Yes, I've talked about how it's completely normal to go into these stores in Europe regardless of what your look like and how much money you have, but Toronto and Torontonians are a little bit different.
Well, it's easy to predict the results. I found what I'm looking for in Hermes. They were beautiful. The boots were over $2000 and the coat was on a mannequin so I don't know how much it cost. I also fell in love with a bag (the fact that I love a bag isn't surprising, the fact that it's from Hermes is) and a beautiful hat as well. I was also pleasantly surprised at how politely I was treated in the store.
Louis Vuitton was a lot colder and I was ignored throughout the duration of my visit there. I was surprised that although blatantly ignored, I was left alone on the second floor with no sales staff or security guard present. There was a nice coat there as well (brown), but I wouldn't think of buying the coat cause, well, it's LV and I've always had a little bit of disliking for the ugly monogrammed items. The visits to the Champs Elysees store quickly made me realize that LV does produce some BEAUTIFUL clothes, but it's not like I'm considering getting them anyway. The coat was $2010 which I predict o be a lot more affordable than the Hermes.
I also ventured into Ports International and enjoyed some of the things I saw there. Actually, I was surprised at some of the designs. For some reason I thought it was more of a classic company.

TCS&CC

I entered the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club today for the first time. I was disappointed that I didn't run into any (skating) celebs, but I did feel like I was in the presence of greatness. The rink was B-U-T-ful. I could skate in there everyday. It made me miss the freeskating. Jumping especially. One day, I'll get the courage to jump in my dance blades. At least my low rent ones have two picks. I'll switch back to FS blades in the future after my skating career is over (for the second time).
It was funny (for me, at least) to see the members walking around in their tennis, cricket and workout gear. Sitting at the bar and having a cold one. What a world.
Whatever. The rink was amazing. So much character. So much history. Sigh, I miss boardless rinks. Ice Galaxy, I'll be back soon.
I still miss my freebie TCS&CC pen that I got in my loot bag from competing in my second Interclub competition (back when getting to that level was a BIG deal) which I lost in high school. It was a generic light blue BIC pen, but it had TCS&CC stamped on it. Best pen ever.

American Gladiators

OMG, it's back. I'm not ashamed to admit that I loved this show in it's original form back in the early-90s. Heck, I loved watching the re-runs that would magically appear every so often. I'm also not ashamed to admit that I watched the full two hour season premiere of the new version. I can't say that I necessarily enjoy Hulk Hogan as the host, but I do like watching goodies like "the gauntlet", "powerball", "joust", "pyramid", "the wall", "assault"..."the eliminator". They've got a couple new events and seem to have lost a couple (remember that one where they're strapped to a bungee cord and have to pull balls down from a velcro covered pole?) The new Gladiators are not as cool looking at the original gang (nor are their outfits), although "Wolf" and "Hellga" (yes - two L's and complete with pigtails and a pleated skirt) are quite amusing.
If you ever watch the show, please stay tuned for the credits. If they have the same credits as the season premiere, I guarantee a couple more moments of extra fun.

Christian Laboutin

I put on my first pair of Laboutin's today. They were a ridiculously high stiletto heeled ankle boot in chocolate brown. I had/have no intention of getting them (even though they were on sale), but I was wearing the right footwear to try stuff on and they had my size on the floor so I slipped it on. Sure, they were so high that I was walking on my toes (no, not the balls of the feet where heels put you, I was pretty much on pointe) and that wasn't the most comfortable, but looking in the mirror, well, it was beautiful. Laboutin's aren't "Laboutin's" for nothing.