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.

Phew

Yesterday, I went skating for the first time in over six months. I've been keeping active since I took a break from the rink, yet, I felt so wobbly out there. And I won't even tell you about how out of breath I got just warming up.
My left leg has gotten so much weaker and I was struggling to do a series of turns and pulls on that foot. It was dreadful and demoralizing. I felt like I was just learning how to skate again. Strangely enough, however, I managed to haul my now, much larger bum into the air and land 2S and 2T. And they felt good. I'm so glad that I'm still able to freeskate with dance blades on my boots.
I was a little worried about how I feel going back on the ice, but luckily, it was okay. I only got depressed about my decline in skating ability, but not necessarily the circumstances that I was skating last year. I'll have to find some sort of venue which matched my skating goals. I think next summer, I might be able to take a step forward, we'll see how it goes. Hopefully, I'll be able to go back on the ice again soon so that I won't be so rusty...ever, again.
And I got a blister. Some things never change.

Robert Munsch

I don't know for sure if I loved to read Robert Munsch's books when I was a kid. I did love listening to them being read. Especially by him. I have no idea where my parents got these recordings, but even to this day, when I read his stories that I have the recordings of, I can still hear his voice.
Last night, I re-read some of his stories, and wondered how I could preserve those memories. Today, as I went to his website to do some research, I found out that you can download him telling his stories.
I'm listening to Mud Puddle as I type this. It's very similar, but not the same recording that I listened to as a child. Speaking of Mud Puddle, I'm still hoping to find a specific version of the story. When I think of the story and hear Robert's voice telling the story, I see pictures from the story. All of the books in the stores have a newer illustrator's version of the story and I really want a visual image to remind me of all of those great memories that I had as a child. Hopefully I'll find it in my lifetime. I'm sure it can't be too hard, if I actually made an effort.
I was also just thinking about how incredible he would be to have speak to teachers or soon-to-be-teachers about passion and engaging an audience.
Ha ha ha...now I'm listening to Mortimer.

Olympic tickets

Figure skating tickets to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are finally available again!!!
Don't get too excited, you need to be a millionaire to buy them. Tickets are going for 10 times the original price. It's absolutely ridiculous. At least it's so ridiculous that I'm not even tempted to buy the tickets anymore. Sure, I'd love to go, but these prices are so crazy. I can't afford to go to the Olympics this time around, but even if I could, I'd be tempted to use that money to buy bags. Many, many, bags! Ha ha.
I just can't figure out how people knew that these Olympics would sell out so quickly. Why didn't people go crazy like this over tickets for Torino? It's not like I bought tickets to make some extra cash, but when I found out that I couldn't attend a couple of the events, I was just happy to get some money back. Most of the events weren't sold out.
I guess as Canadians, we love our winter sports and Olympic events.
It'll be amusing to see how expensive these tickets get.

My Olympic moment. Sigh.

I'm impressed with myself. I've already been awake for an hour, and it's early (by my standards).
Yesterday, I was truly convinced that I would miss out on all of the Olympic fun. I didn't think that it was in the cards this time around. I should have known that I wouldn't be able to give up that easily.
Last night, I took another look at the Torch Relay Map and noticed that, this morning, the torch would be down the street from me, literally. I figured, a couple hours less sleep for one morning wouldn't be too big of a deal, so I set my alarm clock and hoped for the best.
Just over an hour ago, I bundled up and headed out to the cold outdoors. I had to do a little jogging to catch up (and pass - for photo ops) with the torch, but it was worth it. I'm such a suck. A nice, brisk, early morning run. I was due for one anyway. Even the CN tower was lit up to mark the occasion.
I marveled at the motorcade with coppers, Olympic people and the minibus for those finished their leg of the relay and needed a ride. I admired the sleek outfits and the torch. I was amazed at how short of a distance each carrier had. I could have jogged it no problem.
I did apply to be a torch bearer. I've come to realize that I didn't take the best route. Essentially, the way I applied was in a draw, but I probably would have had a better chance if I had applied in writing. On the way home from my outing this morning, I thought about all of the great things that I could have written. It would have been good. Then, I realized that, although it would have been cool to have been chosen
and to have that life experience, I'm okay with the fact that it didn't happen. I really don't need to be a torch bearer. I was happy to watch it go by. Also, it would have fed into my pack rat habits and I would have had an outfit that I would never wear again and a big torch that would clutter up my home. I swear, I'm not making up excuses to make myself feel better for not being in the relay. I was actually thinking that I would have tried to give away the items to some sort of charity or something. I even restrained myself from taking freebie giveaways from the relay. Like I said, I'm a terrible pack rat.
Anyway, I had my Olympic moment. I'm glad that I made the effort to see the flame go by. I might have regretted it otherwise.
I actually followed to torch further than I thought I would, and I wasn't the only one. And then there were the people who just happened to be in the area at the right time. Silly dog walkers, joggers and people who have to go to work way too early.
Now I'm trying to decide if I should go back to bed.

The Olympics are coming.

It's here. The flame is going through the city today. I'm probably not going to see it and I've decided to attend other commitments instead. I'll be missing out on all of the festivities. Oh well.
I'm sure I could have made an effort, but I'll just keep my fingers crossed that the Olympics will return to Canada again in my lifetime. I won't be going out west to watch the Olympics even though logistically, it would have been a lot easier than the last time. I still can't believe that all of the figure skating events are sold out. They did just release some relatively inexpensive practice session tickets. Those would be great as well - you see some crazy stuff on practice sessions.
As much as I would have loved to go to the Olympics again, I have my priorities and for the next little while, they don't involve spending copious amounts of money on tickets to sporting events. Hopefully I'll be able to watch the events on a big screen TV and enjoy the Olympics, just in a different way from the last time.

Cupcake tour of Manhattan

I went to New York at the beginning of September and still haven't written about it. I'm planning on doing so in the next little while.
As part of the trip, we decided to do a little tour of some of the cupcake vendors in the city.

1. Baked by Melissa
We had the best cupcakes first. These bite-sized cupcakes (which I forgot to take a picture of - I was too excited to eat them) were
delish. They were one-bite shots of flavour. My favorite was the peanut butter and jelly. I would have liked to try the mint chocolate chip and cinnamon flavours had they had them. The cupcakes were not too sweet and exactly what the write-ups described. Just like min-cookies, I could eat a ton of these things. I'm glad that we only bought a small box to split. Oh man, they were good.

2. Magnolia Bakery
I didn't take a picture of the cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, but if you really want to see what they look like, you can see a previous post from my first trip to New York. I would say that although there are many many people (tourists and New Yorkers, alike) that flock to the bakery, they were probably my least favorite cupcake of the bunch. The one thing I do like about it is that it's across the street from the crazy Marc Jacobs stores with the ridiculous sales.

3. Crumbs Bake Shop
I really liked these cupcakes as well. They were massive (more like, big muffins) and came in some interesting flavours. It was hard to decide on just one. I think that's the great thing about mini-cupcakes. You can sample more. This cupcake was creamsicle flavoured and was quite good. My only complaint about their cupcakes was that the icing was too sweet. Other than that - yum.

4. Cupcake Cafe
Nothing too special about these cupcakes, but for aesthetic appeal, these ones are the definite winners (although, the mini-cupcakes were quite well done as well). They looked like oil paintings. I wonder how they got the petals to have different shades on them. They were, what I would call average cupcake size. They were tasty, but nothing super special.

5. Buttercup Bake Shop
These cupcakes were battling for last with those from Magnolia Bakery. In my mind, they were your average, run of the mill cupcake. They looked generic, and they tasted generic too. They were a smidge better than the Magnolia Bakery ones, but I think that's because they weren't as dry.

6. Kyotofu
The final stop on our cupcake tour. Their award winning Chocolate Souffle Cupcake was...ummm, okay. I don't think my opinion
about the cupcake was hampered by cupcake-fatigue, but I didn't find the cupcakes to be too spectacular. They were unique, so I'll give them points for that, but they weren't anything exciting. I'm not a big fan of Asian flavoured pastries, so that probably didn't help matters. I guess I'll say that there are more than enough cupcake shops in the city that I'd rather go somewhere else.

So - lots of sugar in a short amount of time. A cupcake for breakfast isn't a bad thing, is it? The clear winner in this tour was the mini-cupcakes, with the giganto-cupcakes coming in a relatively close second.

Oh my

Stumbled upon a website about Stephen Wiltshire.

Jealous

This is great.

One day

Okay, okay. Next time, I should just get over myself and go for it. I'm such a scaredy cat. This looked like it would have been fun. Maybe I shouldn't have bailed on the opportunity that I had available to me. Oh well.

Hello kitty!

I'm cat sitting for a week. It's been awhile since I've had a cat. I don't plan on owning any cats in the near future. I don't plan on owning any kind of pet in the near future, for that matter. But it'll be nice to have a cat for a week. He seem pretty personable (wait, should that be felinable?) so far. It will be a dandy time, I'm sure.

ADHD docs

In my search for online TV streaming, I came across a couple documentaries about ADHD on the TVO website.
I've only had an experience with one student who undoubtedly had ADHD. It was a fascinating learning experience. It made me feel inadequate as an educator. I know that there's only so much that can be done, with all of the other variables at play, challenges and pressures of the job, but that didn't stop me from wishing that I could do more. I know for a fact that I did more than some other teachers would have done, but I still felt like I should have been able to do more. That I could be better, somehow.
The documentaries didn't blow me over, and I didn't learn a lot from them, but it did give me more insight. I believe the more contexts that I can get, the more that I am informed, even if it's not a new infobit.
Educators have a tough job. There's a lot to know, and I don't think our education prepares us for our job adequately. I also don't think that this will change any time soon. This isn't a post to blame anyone by any means. It's not a pity party either. I love what I do. It's a wonderful profession and I think that there are great things about the system, but there are also areas in which it can be improved.
Teaching is complex. Students are complex.
I'm proud of some of the things that are happening in schools and our educational system. I'm also terribly embarrassed about others.
I feel like there's no much that I need to know. So much more that I need to know. Although it's sometimes demoralizing, I hope I continue to have these feelings and continue to learn.
Also, being a parent is hard. I guess being a kid is hard too.
Okay, I have no idea where this post is going. I do know that I'm happy that I found these videos.

Shopping

I haven't actually gone shopping in awhile, so today was nice. Really nice.
I got great use out of my Metropass and went all over.
My stint in Yorkville was the most entertaining of the day.
I finally ventured into the new Burberry boutique. I had made a conscious effort to stay away all this time, but you can only stay away for so long. I'm quite happy with the store. I made nice with a salesperson who kindly gave me a tour of the store, and pointing out key items from the different labels under the brand. To say I found a couple items that I wanted was an understatement. It was tough.
Hermes was kind enough to create a gift list (with pricing) for shoppers. They also had H shaped butter cookies with orange sprinkles on top. Yum. If you want to stock up on stationary, they have post-it notes for $50. I'm just saying. They also have a purple crocodile Lindy for $38,000 in stock. It's exquisite.
The new Teatro Verde on Yorkville is quite grand. It fits right into the neighbourhood.
On the same streets, I bypassed the shiny new Diesel on the way to Anthropologie. The fancy condo above looks great on the outside. I wonder what the units look like. Anyway, Anthropologie is also a perfect fit into the neighbourhood and I was surprised to find some things that I liked. They do stock some different stuff from the New York location, however, as I saw some cardigans from Preloved in the shop.
I also set foot into the flagship Harry Rosen on Bloor Street. Men must have a field day in there. The Armani section was the most enticing. The greys and purples were fantastic. I found lots of great stuff, but who do I have to buy for in that shop? Sorry friends, I'll have to win the lottery first. They also have felted rocks by Ronel Jordaan as part of their decor. I wonder if she came up with the idea before Stephanie Marin?
Of course I did go to a lot of other places to shop but I can't talk too much about those spots. Don't want to ruin any gift surprises. I didn't actually get any gifts, but the ideas are slowly developing. It was only the first day of shopping, afterall. In chatting with salespeople (some of them were so great!), I learned a lot about products, made some lists, did some price comparisons and will make my purchases in the weeks to come.
It was a nice day.