Totem

Totem is Cirque du Soleil's new touring show. It's playing in Montreal and Quebec City before jumping ship and going to Europe for a run. I'm not sure if it'll be coming to Toronto, but it doesn't matter, I got a chance to see it in Montreal!
Is with all Cirque shows that I've seen, I was not not disappointed. This chow didn't seem to have an overarching storyline, which I thought took away from the show. There were definitely obvious themes tying the acts together, but I like a good narrative to tie things together.
I was impressed with the diversity of acts that this show had. On top of some of the classic cirque acts, there were some acts that I'd never seen before. The classics included things like Russian bars (one of my favorites), rings (featuring the most muscular woman I've ever seen), foot juggling, duo trapeze (I thought these artists portrayed their characters the best. Great feeling and chemistry.), and unicyclists balancing bowls. Of course the clowns helped join the acts, and usually I think they are one of the highlights of the show. I was disappointed with this set. Perhaps it was the audience that didn't react appropriately, but I just didn't feel as though they were as effective as I have seen them be in previous shows.
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the costumes, music and set design. Having a front row seat really allows you to examine the costumes and make-up that the performers have...it's absolutely incredible. I'm glad that the musician got a couple acts front and center, especially highlighting the creativity that the cirque is known for with a mad scientist inspired act which to me, was one of the highlights of the show (more about that later). The set changes were seamless as per usual and I liked how part of the stage magically became so many different purposes, including a motorboat!
As mentioned, there were a couple acts that I'd never seen before. Usually the clowns don't have acts outside of their 'clown' thingy, but the clowns in Totem seemed to have special acts as well. The most impressive was the one that turned into the mad scientist thingy. The musicians used giant test tubes and beakers to create different sounds and rhythms to accompany a clown that turned into a juggler. At first, I thought it was going to be one of those jugglers that bounced balls on the floor kind of like the ones that play songs on keyboards by bouncing the balls on the keys, but then it became this crazy ball tossing/swirling thingy while he stood inside a giant Erlenmeyer flask. All I could think about the whole time was conic sections. And then the black lights were turned on, the balls started flashing different colours and it was a fabulously psychedelic show.
One of the other 'new' acts that the audience seemed to really enjoy was a roller skating duo. I can understand the appeal of such an act, but it was not new to me. I had seen similar performances with duos on figure skates. The pair did a variation of a headbanger, took ideas from ropes acts...I just wasn't as impressed as I could have been had I not seen many of the tricks in a colder environment.
Although not particularly original, I also liked the high bar act. I usually like the gymnastic-type of acts, so this one was right up my alley. A trampoline magically appeared in the stage which only added to my amazement. The timing and synchronicity of the artists always astounds me.
Not completely original, there was a balancing act that was also quite impressive. I think of Cirque shows as often having acts that I'd seen previously, but taken to the next level. This particular act was no exception.
I feel like I'm forgetting to mention another stand-out act, but I can't even use the show's website to help me out. Cirque hasn't added all of the details of the show on the site yet.
The finale, as per usual, intricately got all of the artists onstage in a dance number. The visual effects of the show allowed the artists to enter the stage in a creative way.
The show was also the first one that I attended that gave a standing ovation. Now, it was a great show, but if the other ones that I'd attended didn't give as high of a reception, I'm wondering why this one did. Maybe it's a Quebec thing? I've been annoyed with how easily audiences give standing ovations these days, at operas, ballets, symphonies and many other types of shows. I'm not saying that the calibre of shows it lacking, I just don't know if all of the shows that I've witnessed ovations for are completely deserving. I just don't think that many of the shows have gone above and beyond the quality that I expect from the companies to warrant such ovations. Anyway, I'm not trying to take anything away from Cirque...just making a general comment.
While it was a great show, it was not the best show that I've ever seen. Regardless, if you have the chance to see the show, I would definitely recommend it!

Rube Goldberg machines

Back in the early 90s, I attended Science Outreach's summer camp and loved every moment of it. Part of our adventures included making a Rube Goldberg machine that would get toothpaste out of its tube. My group's machine failed.
Goldberg machines are wicked cool. As such, this is a great TED talk. I'm not sure why I'd never seen the music video before. Probably because I live under a rock.
Which can't be entirely true, because I have seen this equally amazing video.

Top Chef Masters 2

Su-sur! Su-sur! Su-sur!
I'm really enjoying watching this show.
I also feel like the most recent episode had a kind of rigged result, but since it's for charity, I'm okay with that.

P.S. Newest Toronto concept in June 2010...wa-hoo!

Settled on a book

After searching high and low, in various cities, and basically giving up hope that I would find that elusive perfect notebook, I have made a purchase.
I did end up settling for an A4 sized book, because those Europeans just know how to make paper products that much nicer. I had been eyeing the Semikolon notebooks for awhile, in fact, my last hunt for a beautiful book also ended with a Semikolon. Their stuff is smashing.
I'm going to have to trim the sides of the pages that I want to paste into my book, but I guess it will be worth it. It really is the notebook of my dreams, except for that A4 glitch. I tried so hard to find an 8.5x11 beauty, but it's pretty much impossible.
I think I'm going to transfer all of my thoughts and dreams that I've been accumulating on random scrap paper here and there into the book this weekend. Woohoo!

It's like a freaky sci-fi movie

While waiting for an appointment today, I scanned a newspaper and saw a picture that kind of scared the be-jebus out of me. I can't seem to find the exact picture from today's paper, but here's an online story from a couple days ago from the same newspaper. I have never heard of, nor seen a picture of a sinkhole before. That's not entirely true. Maybe I've seen pictures of sinkholes before, without realizing what they were. This one in Guatemala, well, I've definitely never seen anything like this before. I feel like seeing a picture like this might give some kids nightmares. It's a gigantic hole in the ground for goodness sakes. It's pretty creepy looking.

Fastest survey ever!

I just got off the phone with the fastest Ipsos Reid survey ever. I used to never engage in telemarketer/telesurveyer sorts of things in the past, but I'm more compassionate towards this industry and more often than not, follow through with their request to complete their surveys.
Tonight's was the fastest survey ever. After answering two questions for demographics, I was asked five yes/no questions and that was it!

Flairing in my hood

There are two girls who seem to practice flairing in the courtyard in front of the building where I live. In the bars that I've been to, I haven't seen anyone flair, but it's definitely something that I would be pretty impressed with. I wonder if they are practicing for a particular reason. Either way, it's pretty cool.

Oh, I get it now

Last week, I pondered the missing garbage bins in my neighbourhood. There are clear and blue garbage/recycling bags tied to the hydro poles instead. Very classy.
A couple months ago, the City of Toronto had changed their garbage bins (for the record, I like the old ones better, but that's only because I think the push pedal on the new ones will break sooner than expected) and I witnessed changes in the garbage bin landscape in the area. It was fun to watch them remove and replace the bins, and put up caution tape for the gap in the metal barrier on the streetcar stands.
That miscalculation or change in bin dimension still baffles me.
Anyway, so I thought that the recent missing bins was a sign that my pessimistic outlook on the lifespan of the bins was coming true. Not so. It's that darn G20 thingy that keep popping up in the news. Apparently garbage bins are a safety risk.

It's June

It seems I've lost track of what the date is. I deliberately changed my calendar this morning to May 31st and took a moment to reflect whether or not I needed to change my metropass.
It is only now, at 2.05pm, after seeing the date on the PC computer screen at school and checking a couple other sources (just to make sure) that I realize that I've been wrong.
So, either the streetcar driver is also in a time warp or he was just being nice on this first day of June.
Also, the June metropass is the slickest one yet. It's mostly black.

Definitely sweeps

Glee is pulling out all of the stops for sweeps. Special guest stars, pseudo flash mobs, pseudo spinal cord miracles and finally the superstar I've been waiting for - since her first appearance on the show - sings! I got the chills.

Who you gonna call?

I've never watched Ghost Busters, but I sure hope it's something like this.

Craving satisfied...for now

I've been craving moules frites for quite some time now. I've been visiting the seafood section of the St. Lawrence market on a regular basis, looked up a couple recipes and read up about prepping the bivalves.
Well, I think I'm good for a couple more weeks to come. I was at the beer bistro and the menu had a couple options for moules. The moules came with bread which proves to be effective for soaking up broth, but I'm kind of partial to frites as filler. I guess in Europe, they give you bread at the beginning of the meal, so you also have the option of either dunking material.
They were served in a Staub mouliere. I've never seen such a contraption and I loved it.
The moules weren't bad. Quite meaty. The broth was okay, but the moules tasted like moules and the broth tasted like broth. There was no overlap. It's strange, I usually don't like alcoholic tasting things, but I tend to overlook it for moules broth. The first taste is always a little bit shocking, but I suppose I love moules so much that I keep eating. If the flavour is really bold, I don't have much of the broth, but I think I'm a lot more lenient when it comes to moules broth.
Anyway. Moules are yummy.

Food, glorious food!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to cook some different things. Expand my cooking repertoire, if you will.
Let's see, BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, burritos, salsa, guacamole, coconut curry soup, various salads, meatloaf, steak...
It's been going pretty well so far.
I'm not a recipe follower (except if I bake). I do a couple internet searches for recipes to get an idea of common ingredients and then I ad lib it. I haven't really cooked anything that needed to be exact.
It takes me a lot longer to cook than I usually plan for, and I tend to overestimate people's eating abilities and make way too much food. Better more than less. I would hate for people to go home hungry.
I'm not too sure what I want to cook next week.
I do know that at some point, I want to prep a night for moules frites, and have a lobster fest.
It's been fun to cook.

Raclette

Well, if I really want raclette, I can pick up a grill from the St. Lawrence market for $329. The real kind, not the electric version with trays.
I'll keep it in mind.

Amazona

I continue to yearn for Loewe's Amazona bag. It's such a classic shaped bag and I've only seen one person carrying it in public. I love having items that no one else has. At some point, I may end up getting a LV Speedy, but I guarantee you that it's because it's a nice bag. And I'm pretty sure I won't be getting one of those brown monogrammed versions.
Anyway, Loewe's been hyping up their marketing and I've been noticing. Which sucks, because I'm sure other people are noticing too. I've read articles, seen the ads, and I stalked their website/e-store. I desperately want to get this bag before it hits the big time.

The Kids Grow Up

The Kids Grow Up. It's a documentary filmed by a father telling a story of his daughter, Lucy, and how he's coming to terms with the fact that she's grown up and soon to be leaving home to go to college. It's totally up my alley.
I watched the trailer on the official website after the fact. The trailer is really well done. It's a good overview of the main issues in the film.
I liked this film. I think I also started to get a little bored towards the 2/3 mark of the film. I blame a headache that was developing from watching two docs in a row.
I don't know if I'll ever become a parent, but parent-child relationships are challenging to navigate (as, I guess, any relationship is). I mean, it was challenging as a child. I can't imagine going through another set of challenges being on the other end.
There was a Q&A with the director/cameraman/father, Doug Block. Nothing too profound. He would have liked his wife to come along with him to do press and talk at the Q&As, but she was on another continent with other commitments. Lucy is a Junior in College and is studying in Buenos Aires for the year and definitely couldn't make it. I wondering if she would have enjoyed joining her father to tour the film. Apparently she's seen a couple rough cuts of the film that had more content than the final version, but he was vague about whether she's seen the final version. It's interesting to watch the relationship between Lucy and the camera change over the years. It's sometimes difficult to tell where the line between the camera and her father lies. He mentioned that he would like Lucy to sit in a screening with an audience.
As he's now in the stage of his life where the kids have flown the coop and he's able to redefine his relationship with his wife, he mentioned that he's working on the third part of a seeming trilogy (51 Birch Street being the first and this film being the second) where he will be examining husband and wife relationships. He used to do wedding videos, so he wants to get in touch with couples that he made videos for and find out about their lives together as well as, I'm sure, examining his own marriage.

This film screened with Time’s Up, a pretty unmemorable short about a couple's lead up to their baby being born and their exploration into the best use of their time and how to be most efficient. I think it's one of those artsy films that I can sort of appreciate for what it is, and laugh at the light hearted humour of it, but didn't really leave a lasting impression. I did appreciate listening to German for 15 minutes. I could pick up a couple words here and there, so that made me happy.

- picture courtesy of hotdocs.ca

Boo...

I was going to see my last Hot Doc this morning. Fail. So, unless I bail on some of my other commitments or spend some hard earned cash, I'll stand at a grand total of three measly docs for this year. Double boo.
It's too bad because I really really wanted to see today's doc: Kings of Pastry (official website here). I mean, who wouldn't want to watch a doc about chefs competing in a dessert competition?
None of the other shows that I saw were rush when I arrived to the box office the day of to snag a ticket...of course this one was. The box office at the venue doesn't open until an hour before the first screening of the day, and as this was the first show, I didn't have the advantage of extra time before the screening to wait for rush tickets. As I arrived in time for the box office to open, I saw the rush line already snaked around the block. This was a rush line of TIFF proportions. Heck, this rush line was of TIFF ticket holder line proportions. I joined the end of the line knowing my chances were slim, but I figured that I was there, I could bask in the sun and get some reading done at the same time.
I'd say, between 20-40 rushers ended up getting into the screening. I was probably at 75-100. In total, there were between 150-175 rushers hoping to snag a seat.
The consolation for not getting into the showing was a voucher for a free ticket for any daytime screening. Great gesture, and I'm wondering why they did it. I mean it's our fault that we didn't buy tickets in advance. That's the whole point of a rush line. You know you're taking a chance and may not be getting into the screening. Seeing as how it won't come in handy, if someone wants to have the voucher, let me know ASAP.
Should I be happy that I now have two extra hours in my day? Nope. I wanted to watch that doc! And I also want to eat pastries. Super whammy.

Revelation

I'm Emily Strange.
I don't scowl as much and I don't have a black cat.
The rest of the look is on par.

Space Tourists

The second documentary that I watched was Space Tourists (official website here). The documentary is about space travel based in Russia and some of the different groups that are effected or involved in the scene. As I watched the documentary, I wondered what the point of the film was. I couldn't figure out what the take home message. After sitting through the end credits, I'm left thinking that there isn't a main message. It's more of a documentary weaves together different vignettes so that you have a better understanding of the subject matter and different points of view that can be had. The themes were: an abandoned space centre in Kazakhstan, Anousheh Ansari’s journey to the International Space Station as a space tourist, local citizens scavenging and selling charred parts of discarded rocket that dropped from the sky or even using the parts in their daily lives, a team from Romania competing to win a contemporary space race, and the rigorous training of space tourist Charles Simonyi.
I think it would be really cool to go into space. It seems like something I would totally enjoy. I'm pretty sure that I'll never get up there. I'm sure if I put my mind to it, there could be a chance that I could get closer to that goal (if not achieve it), but I have other priorities. If I acquire a bazillion dollars, I may become a space tourist, but otherwise, I don't want to turn my attention from my other pursuits.
Oh yes, I really liked the incidental music for this film. It thought it was well suited to the themes examined and well timed with certain visual moments on screen.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a Q&A after the film. It's always my favorite part of the screening and I could see it being quite enlightening for this doc.

- picture courtesy of hotdocs.ca

Candyman: The David Klein Story

I decided to do Hot Docs this year on the cheap. As such, I was limited to films that were showing before 6pm. There were still tons of docs to choose from, but for some reason, there weren't as many sticking out to me for definite viewing. Nonetheless, there were enough docs to keep me busy.
The first doc that I saw was Candyman: The David Klein Story (official website here). It's the story of David Klein, the man who invented Jelly Bellys. The doc highlighted his journey in the candy industry as an entrepreneur and inventor and his unwavering loyalty to those whom he worked with. This quality, unfortunately, allowed others to take advantage of him or allowed others to prosper where he continued to face some struggles. The biggest scandale, basically being wiped out from Jelly Belly history and loosing out on a ton of profit money.
There was also a component with his son, Bert Klein which I enjoyed. It talked of their relationship and we were able to see the story from a different point of view.
There was a Q&A with Costa Botes (the director), and David and Bert Klein. The questions were fairly mundane and didn't really provide any great responses. Although Bert was wearing the famous sparkly shirt/coat and David danced in wearing the matching hat, the Q&A didn't provide as many fun lighthearted moments as their entrance and David's presence in the doc would suggest. As I was watching the documentary I thought that he would be a great guest speaker talking to youth about good values, creativity, living life to the fullest and so much more. I was actually surprised by David's seemingly snide quips about Jelly Belly and big corporations. I mean, his comments were justified, but I really thought that he would be the type would wouldn't use this opportunity to rant and just quietly project positive vibes no matter how frustrated and hurt he may have felt. Maybe I misread something.
Anyway, another nice touch at the screening was the little baggies of Jelly Bellys that audience members received on the way into the theatre. I would have liked the little legend to tell me the flavours, but thanks to the internet, I don't need a hard copy.
I have to admit, that probably about 45-60 minutes into the doc, I started to get bored. I hope that it wasn't an indication of the doc, as I can't remember the last film that I saw that I didn't feel the same way. Perhaps more of an indication of my attention span.
One doc down, a couple more to go!

- picture courtesy of hotdocs.ca

Fashionably Wrapped: The Influence of Kashmir Shawls

I've never been to the Textile Museum of Canada, but I should probably make a trip there sometime. I'm sure that I would enjoy it.
I've got another commitment Wednesday night that I can't get out of, but if you've got the chance, perhaps the Curator's Tour for this exhibit would be interesting to attend.

Glee

I'm not sure if I like or dislike Glee.
I like the musical numbers, but other than that, the show falls short on so many levels.
For instance, I love Kristin Chenoweth loads, and I'm glad to have heard her sing a bunch of songs on the most recent episode, but c'mon. The storyline was weak. It was like they desperately wanted to get her back on the show somehow and ended up creating a wacked out plotline in order to make it happen. I thought they needed her for sweeps, but it's too early.
So strange.
I'm waiting for Idina Menzel to sing. They've set up a great way for her to come back on the show, so they'd better make the most of it and create some crazy good numbers.

Green Living Show

I'm an over the top pack-rat. Today is proof.
The Green Living Show is in town, and I'd read about the free admission when you bring in a piece of electronic waste to be recycled.
I thought of two pieces that I didn't use that I would probably be okay to donate, but at the last moment, decided to bring one out of retirement and the other, well, it still works and it's super retro-looking, so perhaps one day I'll rock a yellow walkman yet again. Each of the pieces have great memories attached to them, but that's not my real pack-rat story.
I still wanted to go to the show for free, so I rummaged around my place looking for something that was broken. Surely, I would be able to part with something that I couldn't even use anymore. I found a digital camera that seemed to take pictures of a black screen, desperately tried to bring it back to life (at one point it was just temperamental, and if you pressed the on/off button just the right way, the black screen would be no longer). Nope. It didn't seem to work.
Even still, with this completely useless digital camera that has since been replaced by an even better and cooler digital camera, I struggled to put it in my bag and head out the door. This was my first digital camera. This was the camera that I took with me to my European adventure. I mean, I bought it for that purpose. I literally bought it 10 days before I left the country. It survived being dropped many times, the red sands of the safari in Kenya and the tiniest particles of sand in the Sahara desert. I'm sure all of those things actually contributed to its demise, but I loved that camera. I loved the flip screen on the back. I got so good at taking night pictures, and super bright pictures, and speedy motion pictures with it (I still haven't reached the same mastery level with my new camera).
Please, take a moment of silence for my dearly departed digital camera...
I hear you laughing. Fine. Be that way.
All those dents, scratches, bumps and bruises. You will be missed.
I finally pulled myself together, treated the moment as a step forward in my pack-rat illness and ventured to the Direct Energy Centre, where the Green Living Show was being held.
I dropped off my digital camera to the lovely Samsung people who absolutely humoured my trepidation for dropping my camera in the already full bin. I was reassured knowing that my precious camera would be made into something equally useful that someone else would love as much as I loved my camera (realistically though, maybe a little bit less. Don't worry, I admit I'm crazy.)
The show didn't really have much for me. It was a nice outing, but I have no plans at reno-ing my condo and I can't really do anything to the building anyway. I don't need any more clothing, even if it is made out of bamboo and while babies are in the air, I'm not ready to buy presents here. Also, I have no pets to feed organic pet food too and I'm already partway through my final degree, so I don't need to be recruited by a Holistic school of medicine, a university or Stanstead College (someone really needs to explain to me why they were there). I did sample some organic and other foods that made the Green Living radar. I had soy ice cream for the first time, and while it wasn't revolting, dairy ice cream tastes so much better. If you like the taste of soy over the taste of cream, then by all means, go for the soy stuff, but I found the soy taste was all I concentrated on. I could barely make out the maple taste that they were showing off.
I had already had lunch at home, or else I probably would have enjoyed sampling the Farm Fresh Fare. If wine didn't make me nauseous, I probably would have enjoyed the BioVino.
If you've got some time this weekend and would like a nice little outing, take a trip to the show. If you've got some electronic gadget sitting around and collecting dust, and you're not so pack-rat-esque, there really isn't any reason to go to the show.

Making the most of 344 square feet

This is craaazy! I don't know if I'd rather have everything crammed into a studio apartment or have 24 different rooms (but only one at a time).

The death of high end sneaker shops

This makes me sad. I think sneaker shops are super cool and every so often I want a pair of cool looking kicks. I don't think that they'd go with anything in my wardrobe, but they look so cool. I'm sure if I tried, I could rock the look.

Photos that changed the world

Here's a TED talk given by Jonathan Klein (Getty Images) about the impact of photos. I thought it was an effective talk. Concise and impactful with a clear message behind it.
I wonder if I can improve my presentation skills by watching good presentations?
Some people may not want to see some of the pictures used in the talk, so proceed with caution.

Top Chef Masters

Many TV shows are nearing the end of their seasons. I'm running out of things to watch. One that's still airing is Top Chef Masters 2. And Susur Lee's going to be on soon. Go Canada!

Perfect Cons?

I've been looking for the perfect pair of Converse shoes for quite some time now. It seems like I get on kicks to find the perfect ________. And when I get into the zone, I will go almost everywhere to find that elusive perfect thing. I'm convinced that I'll never find my perfect notebook and will probably end up buying something just so that I can start writing everything that needs to be written.
Of course, most of the time I don't know what the perfect _______ is in my head. I have a little bit of an inkling what I'm looking for, but until I see it, I can't give a full description of it.
Anyway, back to the Cons. I've been looking for a pair of Converse shoes. I found a pretty perfect pain in Manhattan, but didn't buy them at the time and of course haven't been able to find a similar pair (or better) since.
Maybe this is my chance at perfection?
Knowing me, I'll just end up not ever owning a pair of Cons, or buying the most generic pair in the world.

Time goes by...so slowly...

It's 10pm and I've been trying to kill time for the past two hours. Surprisingly, I'm exhausted and completely ready for bed...but I still have another two hours to go before I can take off the brown goopey stuff on my ankle.
I've read, I've streamed videos, I've surfed all of my regular websites. I've got a headache. I want to go to bed, but I can't fall asleep or else the brown goopey stuff will burn through my skin.
I haven't wanted to go to bed this early in awhile.
I should be excited that I'm actually tired and willing to go to bed at a decent hour, but I can't even take advantage of my exhaustion. I have until midnight before I can hit the hay.
This sucks.

Lulu's not as popular as I thought!

In a weird twist of events, in the past couple of weeks I've worn my lululemon pants more often than I would like to admit. Sure, I understand that they're comfy, blah blah blah, but they're still sweatpants and if you watch What Not To Wear, you'll know that it's possible to find fashionable clothes that are comfortable too.
Anyway, during this lulu-wearing stint, I've had so many people (strangers, acquaintances and friends alike) helpfully point out that I have a sticker stuck to the back of my leg. Up until this point, I thought everyone and their pint-sized yappy dogs knew about lulu. I'm happy that I was wrong.

31 cent ice cream

It's for a good cause, so it's worth the caloric intake.

Les secrets du sac

I happened to walk by the Chanel boutique on Bloor Street West and noticed that the touring exhibit about the making of their iconic 2.55 bags was in town. I prepared myself to be ignored (am I so clearly not a Chanel customer that every single time I enter, the staff ignore me?) and walked into the store.
On the main floor, I drooled all over their bags. There are some styles that I really don't like, but this time there were lots to swoon over. My eye, however, was drawn to one of the customers who was dressed incredibly schleppy. Rumpled, oversized no-name t-shirt matched with sad looking gym shorts. Juxtaposed with this look was his Chanel backpack and the limited edition Chanel bicycle. Da-amn!
I made my way up to the second floor and noticed a display set up outlining the process of making the 2.55. After wandering through the gorgeous clothing (if I wasn't so messy, I would love to own the white tweed jacket and linen pants...oh wait, I also need a gazillion dollars) I went back to the display and learn more about the making of this bag. There was a Chanel representative from Paris on hand (actually, there were a bunch milling around the store) to talk me through the process. The display included tactile representations as well as video vignettes. It was simple, clean and clearly produced.
I have never wanted to own Chanel more now than I have before.
The amount of detail and thought that has gone into the creation of this bag is incredible. Mlle Chanel included so many different references and ideas into her purse that she thought ladies would love. The 'Mona Lisa smile' poche on the back, the reflection of the smile in one of the pockets in the main compartment, the secret note letters poche hidden in the interior, the perfect alignment of the hardware, stitching, logo and quilting, the adjustable woven chain/leather strap...the list goes on.
The ambassadrice was dressed impeccably. I was jealous of her perfectly fitting jacket and appreciated the delicate chain hem to ensure that the jacket hangs perfectly. All of the French reps were dressed just that much better than the Toronto crew. Pretty easy task given the basic uniform of the regular sales team.
The boutique was closing up for 'by invitation only' viewing of the exhibit as I was on my way out. Boy oh boy were those folks dressed to the nines. Jea-lous.

Mmmmm, poutine

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Vintage Club Monaco

Club Monaco brought back their Crest Sweatshirts a little while back and although I've moved on from sweats, the hoodie is incredibly enticing. I've given away all of my sweatshirts, which is fine because I'm not interested in wearing an extra large anymore. Oh, the 90s.
The company has also created Sigg bottles emblazoned with the crest. Kind of wonderful, but I don't think I'll get one.
As the press release says, it's truly a symbol of Canadian childhood.

A different kind of rowdy crowd

For two and a half years, I had to deal with sloppy drunks in my building. It was terribly annoying. Today is the Blue Jays home opener and the streets are rampant with sports enthusiasts and mischief makers. I haven't watched baseball since the early 90s when they were superstars.
Anyway, I'm tempted to eat street meat for dinner.

Darn hipsters

I can't believe this happened just for some silly clothing at American Apparel. At least Toronto hipsters are more civilized.

Do The Math!

An initiative by The Stop. Written up here.
Take a look.

some sort of payoff

I spend a lot of time in a skating rink. This time, it came in handy.
After not getting my ankle checked out properly (well, I did have two doctors with me when I injured myself and I did go to an herbal specialist soon afterwards for the brown, smelly goopey stuff), I decided to take advantage of the athletic, medical specialist on site and got a thorough inspection of my ankle.
Not the best news. I mean, I kind of knew what to expect, but to hear that I really had to take it easy means that I'm outright defying someone's recommendations.
Anyway, I sprained it badly. Second degree. Hurt my second and third ligament, but I didn't fracture anything. Phew. I rolled my ankle to the outside badly enough though, that I bruised my ankle bone on in inside part of my foot. Bone on bone contact. Nice.
Minimum of 6 weeks.
That's a long time.

Random thoughts

- I'm looking for an 8.5x11inch, spiral bound, lined, non-Dollar Store looking notebook. This seems to be an impossible task. I have gone to big box office supply stores, specialty art stores, chic stationary stores...to no available. There are two main reasons why I think I'm having problems. The first is that I'm picky. The second is that all of the nice things come from Europe, so they're all A4 sized. I'm stumped as to where next to search.

- I saw a homeless man at the women's fragrance counter at a department store in a big shopping complex freshening up. I wondered if he was choosy in the type of perfume he spritzed with.

Looking for a home

Not me. As you know, I just got one.
The Toronto Humane Society is having a big adoption blitz this weekend and they've got a lot of cuties available to be loved and cared for.
I'm not ready to have a pet myself, but hopefully there are many people out there who are!

Wheee!

There's a pancake looking cloud hovering outside of my window. So this cloud is at an altitude of, umm, the 29th floor. I haven't been in (I'm not counting general fog) or above a cloud in many years. Tee hee. This is cool.

Noooooooooo!!!

My guess is that Survivor is going to be a lot less interesting after this past episode.

Porter isn't perfect

I was reminded of a major flaw in Porter's shiny exterior. Luggage takes way too long to come to carousel at the Island Airport.
YOW has a Porter lounge at Gate 18. It's a mini version of the one at the Island Airport and of course, it's lovely.
It was a beautiful weekend in Ottawa. +20degrees. And I was in a cold arena from dawn until dusk.
Oh, and I know that slow luggage has nothing to do with Porter itself. The Island Airport personnel need to step up their game, or I need to go the carry-on only, route.

Porter really is quite lovely

I'm sitting in the new and improved terminal/lounge of Porter and it really is quite impressive. It's a proper terminal, spacious, clean, modern, sleek...everything that you'd expect from Porter. All of the same goodies in the lounge, of course I'm taking advantage of the computer terminals and I'm sipping a complimentary tea. I'm not a National Post reader, however, so that's a bust, but I think I'm being a little bit too picky.
Regardless, I'm terribly impressed.
Well done, Porter. Well done.

Sprained ankle

I was out of town last weekend and had an amazing time (I'll be posting about my trip in due course). It was so good that I managed to sprain my ankle. With all of the activities, sports and shenanigans that I've subjected myself to in my lifetime, I'm surprised that I haven't injured myself more often.
Anyway, the injury didn't happen at the best time as I couldn't hit the dance floor the next night with the same vigour that I would have liked (my foot was so swollen, it was spilling out of my shoes). Nonetheless, it didn't stop me from shoving my swollen ankle into my skates to enjoy the frozen Lake Louise and ski the big mountains that we lack in Ontario. Actually, it might have done my ankle some good being locked in rock solid boots for a little while.
Anyway, I'm recuperating and completely frustrated that I'm forced to stroll at a leisurely pace when I'm trying to catch up on all the work that's been piling up. This one was a pretty bad sprain and I hate to admit it, but maybe it will take a little bit longer to heal because I'm just that wee bit older than the last time I hurt myself. I definitely didn't bruise like this the last time. It's kind of entertaining to look down and see little sausages for toes.
I've been going to a Chinese herbal guy who's been putting that brown pooey gunk on it. I love the smell and it seems to be working its magic. The swelling has gone down and the bruising is not quite as impressive as it was before. It did match my dress quite wonderfully, although I did put makeup on the matching bruised knee to mask the damage.
I'm going to start strengthening exercises to get my ankle back in tip-top shape as soon as possible. There are a couple events coming up for which I want to be in top form.
I had originally posted some pictures of my ankle on here, as I thought they were quite impressive, but have since taken them off because I figured that I'm the only one who really cares about how cool injuries look. I have to remind myself that I'm a little weird.

Completely sucked in

I'm watching the current season (20!!!) of Survivor. I'm in the middle of watching last night's episode and the voting on the Villans' side. Holy toledo. People are impressive.
Please don't judge me, but this reality TV show is amazing! It really is the best of the best going head to head on the Villain side.

Time change

I could have used an extra hour of sleep last night. It was tough getting up this morning and I had commitments which prevented me from being able to turn off the alarm.
Of course, I remembered that I needed to switch the clocks last night before I went to bed. That lost hour sucked.
This morning, on the subway, two separate girls standing beside me didn't realize that the time had changed. One was from out of town, so I can sort of sympathize. The other, well, her excuse was that she lived by herself. She seemed to say something about half of her gadgets changing their time automatically, and so she had been a little confused. But then she asked me a seemingly honest question of "how are you supposed to know to change the time?"
Being someone who doesn't really read the paper, nor watch TV, I still had many sources that told me about the time change. I guess some people really live in a bubble.

Happy Pi Day!

Wishing everyone a wonderful day filled with pie and irrational behaviour.
I picked up a mini peach blueberry pie at the market yesterday, so I'll have that for dessert tonight. Yum.

New York (September 3rd - 7th, 2009)

This was my second trip to Manhattan. I was hoping that this city would be my Paris of my Swiss experience, but I don't seem to make the trip out as much as I would like. Anyway, this time around, I didn't need to do the uber-touristy sites, as I'd taken care of those on the first trip, so it allowed for more important things. Like cupcake eating.



Other than that, here are some of the sights and sounds that we took advantage of in the city:

No, we didn't stay at The Standard Hotel, but we did have lunch at the restaurant. It was quite nice, although we seemed to be tucked into a strange corner. It was quite busy and we had demanded to be sat on the patio. The decor of the place (restaurant and hotel) was really nice. Trendy. I should have expected as much being in the Meatpacking District. The whole area is wonderful. A place to spend more money then I can part with at this time in my life, but it's still wonderful.
Since the last time that I went, they opened up The High Line. It's like it was made for me. People watching, relaxing, soaking up the sun. In my crazy travel sessions, I walk so much that I always need to find somewhere to sit to let my feet and back recouperate. The High Line is the perfect place for this. Some of the chairs were on wheels. On the
railroad, you know? So you could turn the loungers into couches and such. Everything about this place is great. Even a stadium seating set up to watch cars if you're tired of watching people. We also spotted a celeb here, but of course it wasn't me that did the spotting and I'd actually admired his suit jacket before being told that he was someone famous. Shows how much I know.

Following all other tourists in the city, we went into the M&M World. So many candies and I didn't buy any. How impressive. Needed to save my money and cavities for cupcakes. This city is



a commercial, money-making machine. That's all I have to say.
Another tourist trap, the Toys"R"Us. There's a massive ferris wheel in the store. For some reason it seems a whole lot more impressive than the Fantasy Fair at the Woodbine Centre


New York's finest hard at work? Times Square is is a busy busy place, so maybe they were just waiting for something to go wrong. As we were wandering around the area, we stumbled upon a little girl who was in tears. She was lost. In fighting the crowds, she got separated from her older brother and of course, in an area like that, what's a little girl to do, but cry? Luckily, through the help of good samaritans, some luck and a cell phone number the two siblings were reunited.

I knew that getting tickets for the opera at the Met would be impossible, but a night under the stars watching opera on the big screen is a close second. I can't beleive how busy it was. Have something like this in Toronto, and I'm not sure that the turn out would be so big. That's one thing that I love about Manhattanites. They really seem to appreciate the arts. This picture doesn't even begin to show you how many people were there. I'm pretty sure that they said that there were ~1000 seats, and then there was the large group of people who enjoyed the show from the comfort of the concrete floor. My tush was numb be the end. But it was worth it.



Seems like food was a theme on this trip. Dylan's Candy Bar was impressive, yet I still didn't spend a penny there. So much candy.




Continuing on the food theme, we went to Serendipity 3 for dessert. We were already stuffed from lunch, but I HAD to go so, in we went. The portions were so large, and when there's good food in front of me, I just can't say no.
It's a problem. I got the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, which
overflowed in the cup/bowl. Does anyone finish that thing on their own? I had a little bit of lactose overload at that place and felt ill afterwards. I would have liked to see the $1000 sundae in person, but no one ordered it while we were there. The place was packed and we only got a chance to sit down after putting our name on the list an hour earlier. We had planned to eat lunch there, but ended up using the hour wait to eat somewhere else down the street to return for dessert. It's a really
cute restaurant, but maybe more of a tourist trap than I like to admit. It's not so over-laden with tourists that celebrities will still go there, but I wonder what the break down of the demographics of patrons is. There are some famous celebrity patrons who call themselves regulars. I want to find a restaurant in Toronto that I can be a regular at. I'll work on it.


One part of the city that I haven't discovered much is Central Park. This time, I found the Alice in Wonderland statue, another popular tourist site and spent awhile there waiting for a perfect picture opportunity. It was more amusing to watch the interactions
and personalities of the different people who were there and their conflicting priorities. I need to go back again next time to get a better shot of the statue. I should look into the new movie that came out and find out if it's worth seeing.


Wandering the city, we stumbled upon a huge Brazilian celebration. The set up reminded me of Fete and I thought about getting food there, but it was a big too crazy and nothign really stood out to me. There were so many people on the street and vendors everywhere. I guess there's always something going on in Manhattan. I'm looking forward to the summer in Toronto when there are festivals every weekend.

Another food stop on our trip was at Jacques Torres. I was reaching my sweet quota by this point, so I only has one little square. The Love Bug was a "key lime ganache kissed with white chocolate". How cute. It was tasty (of course). I didn't get any cavities on this trip, but I wouldn't have been surprised if I did.

West Side Story

While in New York, we went to see West Side Story. We were deciding between Billy Elliot and this one, but after many failed attempts and waiting and long line ups to get tickets to Billy Elliot, we decided to enjoy at least something and quickly got tickets for West Side Story before it was too late. As the show was quite popular, we didn't have the best seats in the house, but it worked out in the end.
Sitting the last row of the balcony, we realized that the section was only 1/2 full and so we tried to fanagle with the ushers to sit in the lower sections if no one was going to show up. They weren't biting.
Partway through Dance at the Gym, there was some strange technical glitch and all of the performers left the stage in varying amounts of character. Before the ushers knew what we up, I bolted to a lower section. The disruption was so long that everyone else got the hint and moved forward much to the ushers dismay. I don't blame them for trying to do their job, but we theatre goers want a good view!
Anyway, the show was great, of course. West Side Story is one of my favorite musicals, so just watching them go through the motions was enough for me. We weren't the biggest fans of the performer who played Tony, but the rest of the leads were well done. Anita was great.
I was intrigued by the choice to sing I Feel Pretty in Spanish. I wonder what the rationale behind it was.
Anyway, a good show, and I'm looking forward to my next trip out!

- header picture courtesy of www.broadwaywestsidestory.com

McQueen Fall 2010

Wowsa. RIP.

On the inside looking out

The traffic going west on the Gardiner is dreadful, but drivers can look at the beautiful colours of the sunset and admire the calm of Lake Ontario.
I'm slowly making progress on a mammoth paper and although I haven't been outside, feeling the warm sun shine through the windows has been a close second.
I've gone through lots and lots of orange juice today and hopefully shock of excessive vitamin C will kill this cold once and for all.
If I can just get through the next 40 hours (and do everything that needs to get done in a satisfactory manner), I will be a whole lot happier.

On a roll

Third day of 10+ hours of sleep.
I had pulled myself away from my computer, ready to do some reading, and then physically couldn't keep my head up so flopped onto the bed.
Thankfully, after about an hour of sleeping, I realized that I probably wouldn't be moving anytime soon and managed to get up to take my contacts out.
This cold is ruining me.
I was only awake for 7 hours yesterday. Most people don't even get that much sleep in a night.
I think I'm in for a rough rest of the week.

Slept in again

I can't even put the blame on the Olmypics anymore. I had planned to go to today's edition of the free concert series at the Four Seasons Centre, but I couldn't get myself together in time.
Well, I guess, technically, I could rush over there right now, but I'm so apathetic that it's not going to happen.
I hate being sick.
I really hope 2 days of 10 hours of sleep each night are working to battle this cold.
I have too much to do.

Blame it on the birthday boy

Is it acceptable that I started my day rather late because the radio station my alarm clock is tuned into is playing Chopin all day? It was almost three hours that I lazed around before forcing myself to get up. Chopin is so wonderful.

Soon it's back to normal

I've only really been watching the figure skating events during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, with a couple others thrown in for good measure.
In fact, I only clued into the fact that the Canadian Men won their gold medal because all of a sudden I heard yelling and cars honking from inside my condo. (I did instantly go online and watch the final minute of the game just to make sure I was in the look - thanks CTV online streaming.)
As I said in a previous post, I'm super impressed with CTV and their coverage of the games. Not having a TV, I was convinced that I'd miss out on everything, but it's been a wonderful experience.
In fact, I'm kind of bummed that it's over. I've enjoyed getting free Toronto Star newspapers and seeing Canadian spirit everywhere. The Olympics are a wonderful thing.
I even got choked up on a couple occasions. And I really hope that the winter Olympics come back to Canada again in my lifetime. The only problem is that I think we're running out of cities that can host it. There aren't too many mountains in our country. One can hope. And hopefully if they return, I will be able to go. Even if they don't come back, hopefully in the future, I'll be able to return to the Games. Just like a lot of other folks, I've been thinking about the different sports that I could take up and somehow hope that I have a gift and can manage to get to the Olympics. Sigh.
As per usual, I didn't buy any Canadian Olympic gear. I did buy a pair of those super selling mittens for a friend, and they were a lot easier to find than I had thought they'd be. There were a ton at the second location I went to, albeit, maybe I just got lucky because when I returned a couple days later, the stock was completely depleted.
I do regret not buying a Russian zip-up from Torino when I had the chance. It looks like the Russian Federation hasn't changed their design too much as I would have loved to have one of their pieces from these Games as well. Maybe in the future.
I'm obviously streaming the closing ceremonies right now, so it'll be another late night.
That's my only complaint about the Games this time around. Due to the time difference, it was possible to watch the events that I wanted live, but they made for very late nights, and I think my other commitments suffered because of it. I'm looking forward to getting back on a regular schedule because I haven't really been on one since December, and I'm about due.
Anyway, I'm not really concentrating on this post because I should get some dinner prepped so that I feel like at least I'm getting something accomplished while the ceremonies are going on. That's another bad thing. I've been spending more time in front of the computer with not necessarily anything to show for it.
Anyway, it's been fun. I still wish I could have been there, but what can you do. At least I had my internet and laptop.

Growth

I put mustard on my sandwich for lunch today. I liked it.
So, six years ago, when I made a conscious decision to force myself to eat this stuff that just tasted weird (I had the advantage that it way everywhere and on almost everything that I ate) in hopes that I would get used to the taste, little did I know how effective my actions would be.
Granted, I perhaps never liked mustard prior to my European adventure because I had only encountered the canary yellow French's variety. While abroad, I only had fancy mustards.
So what does that make me? A mustard snob?
Anyway, point is, perseverance pays off? It hasn't quite worked out so well with olives.

Bats!

The bat cave at the ROM is soon to be up and running again for the public. It's one of the major attractions at the museum and I remember enjoying going through the space as a child. Every group I take through the museum wants to visit it, and I love watching their reactions as they walk through the mock-up of the Jamaican cave.
Anyway, it's been a long time in the works, but they finally renovated the space and I'm impressed how quickly it got completed.
I haven't had the chance to walk through it yet, but I will be next week, for sure.
The ROM has declared March to be Bat Month to pump up the opening and hopefully draw more visitors to the museum. It's not-so-coincidentally planned so that March Break falls during the celebrations.

A sign?

Rykiel everywhere!
I was hoping to get a striped sweater from Rykiel's capsule collection for H&M, but when I finally showed up today, of course all of the good stuff was already gone.
Wandering The Room, it was clear that they were pushing the brand as well. Lots of accessories.
I was a little dismayed that The Room wasn't overflowing with PS1's. Actually, I was a little scared that they were all sold out, but there were still a couple specimens to drool over.
Do I regret not buying that voluminous Rykiel coat in 2008? No, I loved it, but I'm sure that I will find another lovely coat in the future when I'm ready to splurge.
Oh yeah, there are fashion shows going on all over the world right now. I didn't bother watching the live streams online, but in some of the pictures that I've seen, I've got to say that I love, love, love the Burberry Prorsum collection. Am I surprised? No.

Fashion is weird

Look at this bag from the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2010 collection. It's a garbage bag. Okay, it's probably some sort of industrial strength vinyl thingy, but essentially it's a garbage bag with some hardware and a partially leather strap attached to it. Look, it even has a drawstring to tie up your stuff. Is this some sort of tongue-in-cheek effort to say that ladies have a bunch of junk in their bags? For ~$2000, I'd rather swath my 'junk' in something a little more demure. Styling this bag as a simple rectangular silhouette does make it look a bit cleaner, but just imagine the garbage ties pulled up and cinched in and, well, sitting like a bag of garbage on her hip.
Although, I have to admit that I hope it shows up in the Yorkville boutique. I want to see this bag in person.
Also, if I had a gazillion dollars, I would probably enjoy getting some outrageous bags too. Okay LV, you win this round.

- picture courtesy of vogue.com

Sad-face

How much do I miss skating right now?
Are you sure I shouldn't go back to it next year?
I can do it, really I can.
I'm sad. Very very sad. (This is probably why it's best that I'm watching the Games by myself. So I can wallow in self-pity.)

Tweet, tweet!

I feel like Twitter would have come in handy while watching live events like the Olympics. Especially when I'm watching them alone by starting at a little 3.5x6inch video feed on my Macbook.
Actually, I don't know. I do like my alone time. And Twitter sometimes makes me want to barf. Just like Facebook. (yes, I'm a hypocrite because I have an account)

Amelia?

Why does Liz Manley keep saying Amelia instead of Amelie?
Also, it's Saint-Saens, not Saint-Jean.
Otherwise, she's not too bad a commentator.

Olympics

They're happening. And I'm not there. I'm kind of sad.
Not having a TV, I thought that I would miss out on the whole thing, but this past weekend, I had the luxury of being at an event where they set up a hospitality room for us Olympic junkies. And then the whole weekend, we were pampered with leather couches and a TV hooked up just for us. Definitely not the regular treatment.
The opening ceremonies were wonderful. The only part that I had reservations about was the lighting of the torch. It had nothing to do with the malfunction with one of the arms, but I guess the rumor of the avatar of Terry Fox made me expect something pretty amazing.
Anyway, upon returning back to the city, I was worried that I'd be back in my non-TV bubble, but CTV is doing such a bang up job.
I've been able to watch complete events live and then go back and watch other events that I missed. Every so often the feed will freeze, but no major problems. I'm terribly impressed. So I can watch the events live with commentary, or later on with no talking. I'm glad that they show the entire event, right from the first skater to the last. Okay, it's just skating that I really care about. I'll watch highlights of the other events, but I guess I really only need to watch the skating events live. For us hard-core fans, they even have the detailed protocols for each of the skaters. So impressive.
Well done, CTV, well done.
I really hope that the Olympics will return to Canada again in my lifetime and I hope that I will have enough money lying around to go. I also hope that a miracle will happen and I'll be able to participate in the games as more than just a spectator.

Better late than never

Happy New Year folks. I hope the year will be grrrrreat!

Dedicated folks

I've recently been taking a circuitous route to get to school. I'll walk through the Skywalk to Union Station instead of hopping on the 510 up to Spadina. It's a nice little walk. I should try to make it a regular habit. Although it would mean being a little bit more organized in the morning.
As I've had a pretty relaxed schedule for the past little while, I've taken the stroll during regular 9-5ers lunch hour. I get a little amused at the folks who stroll along the walkway getting their midday workout in. And then I marvel at the power suits that carry their gym bags to the conveniently located GoodLife for their serious midday workout. That's commitment.
I hate working up a sweat. And I hate not being able to go home and recuperate in the comfort of my own home.

Text to landline service

This is weird.
I assume that this has something to do with this service, but I don't know for sure.
I got a "text message" on my land line in the form of a automated voice mail.
Unfortunately, I don't know who left it, because I haven't memorized anyone's phone numbers and I couldn't reach my cell phone fast enough to check who's number it belonged to. The crappy thing is that there's no way of listening to the number of who sent it again. Sure, I can listen to the message, but that wasn't going to help me.
Anyway, there's probably a big chance that the person that sent it will read this and tell me, because I would like to know to properly respond.
But yeah, the service is weird, because it forces me to listen to a creepy robotic lady's voice.
And this isn't the first time that I've gotten such a message either. Maybe I should tell more people my cell phone number?

Edit: Nevermind. I figured out who it was. I had the reverse whitepages website pulled up just in case it happened again tonight. I'm pretty sure in this case, they thought they were calling a cell phone.

Invisible City

I just got home from watching Invisible City. I had desperately wanted to see this film at Hot Docs 2009, but ended up going to Taiwan instead. Of course I was excited to go to Taiwan and a couple other places (written up here, here, here, here, and here), but I had this feeling that I would be missing out on a very special documentary.
Luckily, The Royal Cinema is screening the film for a week and TVO is screening it as well as hosting a discussion forum about the documentary.
Tonight was the premiere of the film at the Royale and Hubert Davis (director), Mehernaz Lentin (producer), and three of the cast members (Kendell, his mom - Sandy and Ainsworth Morgan) were in attendance.
In education, there's a lot of talk about defining moments. Could this have possibly been one of mine? Did I (re-)discover my passion through watching this film?
For fear of forgetting (I wish that my internal dialogue had an instant transcriber), I'm just going to write a couple words to come back to if I don't get around to flushing out my thoughts from tonight in a more productive space. Teacher identity. Creating a safe environment. Caring. Knowing your student. Taking care of the person before the student. Making learning meaningful. Relevant.
I feel like I've already forgotten about some of the things that this film made me think about.
Very quickly into the film, I asked myself yet again if I'm making as much of a difference as I can. I don't think I'm courageous enough to take the steps to reach my full potential on that front. Or perhaps, (to make myself feel better) I have just chosen a different path. A different outlet for change.
I'm not going to talk about all of the issues in the documentary because there are too many. And depending on the viewer's personal experiences, I'm sure different messages ring stronger than others.
Of course, even better than the amazing documentary, was the Q&A afterwards. It started off with a bang. Kendall's father was in the audience, seeing the film for the first time. It was moving and I heard many sniffles around me. I thought Sandy's voice rang through the strongest. To persevere as a parent, to maintain as much physical and mental presence as possible with your child, to love unconditionally and look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Kendall's story seems to be a successful one, although there were bumps along the way. No doubt, this has something to do with his mother's passion, but I'm sure some of the more tumultuous stories also have a parent/parents who are trying their best, so to a certain extent I take it with a grain of salt. There is no guidebook to parenting and most are doing the best they can, no matter the method.
Anyway, it's pretty clear that I loved this film. I'm sure that there are many other films like it out there, and I hope that this one along with all the rest get out to as many people as possible.
There are many things that I have experienced in my life which shape me or compel me to want to do something. I wonder if this will be one of the things that I act one.

Like a knife in my heart

Loewe has an e-shop. I've been looking for this bag since my hair appointment ran late that one summer's afternoon in July of 2008. The next year, I was told that the house was going back to its roots, especially as it's the 35th anniversary of the Amazona, and only selling this version. I could cry.
Okay people, stop rolling your eyes. At least I'm not being overly demanding and lusting over this one. I do have my limits, although, it's soooooo beautiful and I would be extremely happy if it showed up on my doorstep. Even better was the grey stingray version. Wowsa.
I want to cry myself to sleep now.
Stuart Vevers, I beg you...if you still are at the helm of the company (and if it's not you, then this is a plea to the next guru of the Spanish house) please, please, please keep these bags around until I can somehow scrounge up the cash to get one.

Wow

He's a little too showy for me, but this is great.

Winter coat

I think winter has finally hit. This week was the first time I pulled out the heavy duty winter garb. At some point I want to get a fab coat. It's gotta be a warm one, because I'm getting old and can't seem to deal with chilly weather as well anymore.
The city has jumped onto the Canada Goose bandwagon, which seems like a pretty expensive bandwagon for Torontonians to embrace. I'm not sure if people know any better. Those darn TNA parkas are still running rampant around the city. A more affordable choice by far.
I really hope that Moncler never hits it big in the city, because it's going to be awhile before I feel comfortable splurging on a nice coat. I don't know if I'm down the shininess of their parkas, but at least it's something that you don't usually see on the streets. The styles look pretty cute. Holts definitely doesn't have the entire collection, but at least it's nice to see a couple in person. Maybe I should try one one for torture's sake.

Scheisse

Excuse my German.
So, I lost another connection to practice my French (although maybe I can miraculously develop some schweizer deutsche skills) and I actually have make some sort of decision about grown-up things? I thought I was paying someone else to do that for me.
I have to admit, it was kind of nice to listen to a Swiss accent once again.

Ouchie

Is it feasible to think that my ankles and feet have been hurting because my place has hardwood flooring instead of carpet? I'm convinced this is so.

Goodbye, dirtpile

I'm going to miss my view of the dirt pile. Or maybe it's more of a ditch. I now have pretty much the same view as before, but better. Of course, I don't have the dirt pile. I got used to that pile of dirt with random trees and weeds growing in it. I would sometimes see the odd groundhog running around. Sometimes the ditch became more presentable. Sometimes a bulldozer would come to try to give it a facelift. Sometimes more dirt was added to the collection. It was a work of art.
I'm going to miss hanging out on my balcony and knowing that the only people that could easily see me were construction workers and those stuck in traffic on the Gardiner with superpower eyesight. That they'd wonder what kind of a weirdo would nap in the sun on her lounge chair. Sometimes I would pull down my Alinghi cap so low thinking that if I couldn't see anyone, no one would be able to see me. I never did end up sleeping overnight on my balcony. It wouldn't have really been an under-the-stars experience like I'd made it out to be in my head anyway. I did curl up under a blanket and let my mind wander on a couple chilly nights though.
The dirt pile was supposed to become a low-rise building. Containing two schools, some residential units and something else that I can't seem to remember. The condo corporation is now trying to swing putting in a 40-something floor high-rise. Unobstructed view, gone! The board is hoping to compromise with a 14 floor building.
It's nice to have a second space to hang out in. I kind of like the emptiness of it. No distractions except for the dirt pile and the rest of the view. And full amenities too. A girl could really get a lot accomplished here if she wanted. Much more enjoyable of a space compared to the no-windowed room in the ivory tower. One day I hope to move on to a room with a view. On top of that, perhaps I will become super rich and have a completely vacant unit to hang out in.

Another nod to a great busker

I've made a quick mention of this busker before, but this article gives a little bit more insight into who he is. I hadn't heard any updates about what he'd been up to recently, so it was great to read about some new adventures. It's kind of interesting. I mean, I know lots about his life and I'm sure he knows lots about mine, but I don't know if we've official met. We must have. As kids or something.

It's sale season

Although it seems like the city is perpetually on sale, we're now getting into the nitty gritty, end of season sales. They are everywhere, but I've been pretty good about staying away from shops so that I won't be tempted to buy anything. Last week, I did go window shopping just so that I could get out a bit. It was a pretty nerve wracking week.
I hadn't gone into Davids for quite some time and I was in the mood to pretend to be able to afford a new pair of shoes, so a little visit ensued. I had been eyeing the black suede Louboutin Globe booties for quite some time, so I decided to put them on in my moment of make-believe. They were splendid. I had thought that the detailing was all cutouts, but the gold made them better than I thought they would be. I also tried on another more sensible pair of shoes, which were also quite nice, but they were also part of my make believe romp. I would like a pair of booties, but all the ones I like seem to be insanely priced. How predictable.
I was also thinking that although I'd love to wear fabulous outfits everyday, I don't think I live in a world where those fabulous outfits exist. I'm not talking about the money aspect of it (for once), but I just think I live in a world where it doesn't makes sense to dress like a superstar. Not only do I not like to stand out in a crowd, but I don't know if it's appropriate for my life right now (or ever, I'm sure). Come to think of it, there's probably only a teenie weenie percentage of the Toronto population where these fabulous outfits would be deemed appropriate. Or maybe I'm just oversensitive and I should be glam regardless. Oh well, I'll never have to worry about it - shoes from Davids are part of my la la land collection.

Friends forever

Oh debt, you and I will be friends for many years to come. I will tend to you with bi-weekly payments and in 5 years you will probably try to screw me over by raising my interest rate. Thanks.

Adulthood

Tomorrow, unless something goes terribly wrong, I'll be holding the biggest cheque that I've ever held. It's strange how a little piece of paper can be worth so much. I still feel like it's all play money. Monopoly money, if you will, just not quite as colourful. I wonder when it's going to hit. Little things have made me slowly realize that I'm taking the next step towards adulthood, but when is this one really going to sink in. November was a terrifying month. I just wanted December to hurry up and be over. January has been a stressful time, but soon it should hit. At least, I sure hope so. I need to get back to my regular life. There's too many other things that I need to start concentrating on.

An anniversary of sorts

15 years ago, I officially quit figure skating. Since then, and probably due to that difficult decision, I went back on the ice to start my career, reclaimed my love for the sport and proceeded to skate more than I ever did as a young athlete. I found success in the sport like I never had, improved more than I could have imagined, became more involved in the figure skating community and ended up pushing myself to become an elite athlete. I'm sure that I would have never ventured down this path had I not decided to quit skating all those years ago. Perhaps my path would have led me to extraordinary experiences had I continued to skate, but my actual journey has been atypical and, well, interesting to say the least. In many ways, it's shaped me to be the person who I am today.
No matter how much skating I've done since then, I still consider 1995 the year that I quit figure skating. All of my on-ice adventures in the past little while have been...I'm not sure what I can call it. A hobby? A whim? A chance to strive for something that I never imagined possible?
Right now, I'm at a crossroads. There's nothing more that I can aim for. At this moment, there isn't an outlet for the type of skating that I wish to pursue or at the calibre that I need given where my life has taken me for the moment. In the summer, I may be able to get some ice time and work on my next goal (although, not quite at the same kind of level as my other most recent ones). The most plausible solution for the time being, which I've kind of ended up doing, is to stop skating altogether, but it's been difficult. I have managed to find another outlet to distract myself from the skating void and it was going pretty well until just recently, when I had to confront my demons. I still feel like there's more to accomplish, but I have to try to see the light at the end of the tunnel and focus on all the other wonderful things that I have due to my decision to, ummm, not quit (because that's what I did in 1995), but take a break from skating.
It's hard to stop altogether when you've got a lovely pair of skates in your closet with fancy blades that you invested in. I just got home from the rink. It's the second time that I've been skating since the big break up (that's what it feels like). Tonight was much better than the first time. I was so proud of myself. I did everything that I could do 15 years ago. I think it will help me to get over my break up by going back to the mindset that I'm a freeskater. I just happen to be a freeskater with dance blades. The sooner I forget about turns and footwork, the faster I can get over my sadness. I was so proud that I landed a bunch of 2Lo. I admit that I didn't try any combinations tonight, but I was so happy at everything else that I did do.
I am happy to still be involved in the sport, just at a different capacity - I guess it's only normal to go through a period of adjustment after you quit. Albeit 15 years after the fact. Maybe if I continue to focus on my off-ice skating goals, I'll start to forget about the on-ice ones that were out of my control. The only problem is that I'm not sure how much control I have over these goals either.
But the most important thing is that I can still jump! I can't believe it. After all this time...I've still got it!

I'm a Robarts Library user!

I probably could have gone through my entire university career without setting foot into a university library...and I've been a university student for many years. We're lucky these days to have so many resources online.
I did go into Robarts Library once before, but it was a quick in and out and I really had no idea what else was in there, let alone did I want to find out. For someone who loves walking through libraries (I like the architecture and the smell of books, even though I don't really like to read), I was pretty intimidated by that building.
Although many university libraries are beautiful on the inside, the atmosphere is totally different compared to other libraries with picture books and magazines. You see, they're usually filled with stressed out students. Students who are very studious, or, at least, much more studious than me. I get all anxious and filled with self-doubt. I usually like to live in a state of awesomeness.
Robarts is no exception and it's ginormous. I didn't even know how to begin to find the book that I needed. Luckily, the friendly information crew didn't laugh in my face and gave me a guide to the library. I get the feeling that I'm not the only one who's at a loss when entering the building. I had no idea that there are 14 (14!!!) floors to the building. You never would have guessed from its avian-looking exterior. I was thrown off by the guard that checked your ID before letting you into the elevator and then zoomed up to the 11th floor to find my book. I give the building props. It's a well run machine. I mean, there are different drop boxes for books depending on their call number. Everything is clearly marked, and there really is no reason to feel like you'll get lost in the place. It was pretty obvious where I needed go.
I quietly oooh-ed and aaah-ed the motion sensored light switched at the ends of each row in the stacks. I applaud their efforts at saving energy. I quickly found my book and used a footstool that was conveniently placed at the end of the row.
I was pretty sure that I wanted to wait in line to check out my book with a human when the info crew told me that I could go to a self check-out kiosk. More stuff aimed to intimidate. Of course, there was nothing to worry about. Having conquered finding my book, I figured that the self check-out might be just as fun as its counterpart in the grocery store (I love them). Sure enough, I had a ball of a time checking out my book.
I wouldn't be surprised if I never have to go to Robarts again (except to return my book), but if I do, I won't be so scared.
The only thing that could have made the experience more entertaining would have been if the stacks had those rolling shelves. I'm not talking about the ladders attached to the wall that roll around so you can reach the books at the top of the shelves built into the walls, I'm talking those crazy shelves with the big steering wheel attached to the end of the row and rows of shelves are all stuck together to save space. Now that would have been pretty awesome.

Mental note

Sobeys is having some crazy sale today. Maybe it's shipment day and they want to clear out stock. Mental note, check out the store next Tuesday to see if it's a weekly thing. If I can figure out when this overpriced store has some deals, I can be the ultimate lazybones.