06.30.09
Toronto in June
Notes on my visit to Toronto:
- even with a garbage strike, Toronto is cleaner than most international cities of its size
- Pride Parade would be fascinating to see. I caught the crowds after the show, and they were fascinating too.
- Fresh (a vegetarian restaurant on Bloor) is totally delicious.
- Future (a dessert cafe on Bloor) is also delicious.
- Sonic Boom (a used CD store on Bloor) is fantastic.
- Bloor St. is generally great.
- Public transit amazes me. From the Danforth to the airport for $2.25 (and 1.25 hours).
- Good friends just happen. You don’t really know how, and sometimes you don’t really know why.
- Girls always talk about boys. Even when we are sick of talking about boys.
- I spend money when there are sales. Sales are dangerous. But for about $16 I now have a great new hat and two new albums: Anberlin’s latest and Hot Chip’s DJ mix…both of which I’ve wanted for a while.
06.25.09
Shopping Frenzy
I have purchased many things this week.
- one pair of Steve Madden suede boots (for only $5 – how is that even possible!?)
- one pair of capris
- one button up shirt – dark periwinkle with a thin black belt
- one cute lavender tank
- one light brown button-up cardigan
- one grey wool pullover
- two layering tanks, one white & one black
- one under-armour shirt for my athletic endeavours
- two wedding gifts (only three more to go!)
- five pairs of underwear
Things I (Almost) Forgot
- That I have this blog (six weeks of intermittent internet access will do that to you).
- The amount of effort, intellectually & emotionally to get back into theĀ (blogging) groove after an extended break.
- What the Ontario humidity does to my hair. None of it good.
- How much I enjoy thunderstorms (ironically, I used to be petrified of them).
- The way that depression wreaks havoc with my friend’s heart.
- How much difficulty I have concentrating when working at home.
- That I love So You Think You Can Dance.
04.17.09
Unfinished Business
Sometimes I don’t finish my entries, and then when I go back, I’m not sure what I wanted to say. My saved draft openers include:
- “Respect is not a feeling. It’s how you treat someone.”
- I Like Fat People…
…who want to be skinny - Aurora Borealis
- Why I’m Not More Popular in the Blogosphere
- Picnic Tables are Fast
- “I’m Done Now.”
- Where Is Your Sting?
- Claimes to Fame (aka the Lame List)
- Narnian Names
- Lessons on Traveling
- Peevish
- Happiness Is…
- Note to Self: Consider the Following… (do you know how FRUSTRATING it is to not know what I was talking about??)
- Packing & Repacking
04.13.09
What I Learned Today
Time with the family is always enlightening. Today, I had the following thoughts:
- I love my family. I really do. Seeing them happy makes me happy.
- Babies/toddlers are adorable, but vomit is always gross.
- Card games and board games are a great way to bond, but it is important to know your capacity. (Know your limit, play within it.)
- Small talk with family can be just as awkward as small talk with strangers. Maybe more so, because I expect it to not be awkward.
- Just because someone is “family” does not mean you will understand or like them.
- Just because food is there doesn’t mean you have to eat it. Someone else will. Eventually.
- The recession is real, and even if I don’t personally feel the effects, someone in my family does.
- I wasn’t sure I wanted to be back in Ontario for three weeks. But I think I’ll survive just fine.
- I like traveling. By plane, by car…but I need to make up for the 20 hours I’ve spent in transit this weekend.
04.10.09
Making Room
I packed. I’m done (almost). I’m ready to go. I was afraid I’d forget, but I am confident I have the following items with me:
- outlet converter
- pyjamas
- dress for tomorrow’s wedding
- books to read
- books to pass on to someone else
- dental floss
- clothing for three climates
- shoes
- camera
- passport
- ergonomic pillow. I won’t last 3 months without it!
03.30.09
Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease
My sister complained this weekend that I haven’t posted on here for a long time. It is true. This is what I have been doing instead:
- working
- sleeping
- planning a trip for 35 people to northern Africa
- reading
- watching movies
- working
- thinking about where I want to be in 5 years
- wondering if I’d make it in the academic world
- hanging out with friends
- working
- cleaning my house
- cooking my meals
- fixing my car (or having my car fixed)
- flossing my teeth (one of my rare daily habits, alongside brushing my teeth and washing my face)
- working
- making whirlwind visits to Ontario to attend weddings. Okay, only one. But there’s another in two weeks…and it takes a lot out of me.
03.03.09
Ways I Procrastinate
- reading blogs
- writing blogs
- cleaning
- watching old episodes of TV series I really like: Law & Order, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Best Dance Crew, etc
- sleeping
I don’t actually have time to procrastinate these days. That’s why I’m not blogging much…
02.13.09
Saved Text Messages
There are a few messages I can’t bring myself to delete off my phone. They might make no sense to you, but each of them makes me smile. (all typos are theirs, not mine…)
- Sharp and shrimpy. Sup wichew?
- I work 1500 2 0300 if you’re back in area call me to see ifwe can meet u
- Hi Beth I like you! Not in a sketchy way.
- I had to pray for you right now. May god show you his majesty today through those you love. You are a princess to the king. I miss you
- Just so u know, i’m at a trumpet conference right now. About to hear some trumpets.
- Not as much fun as you getting me sloshed next week.
- Well…that removes all doubt in my mind. Hey – bet you never thought you’d textmessage the word ‘gigolo’. I hope yer Mom saw you do it.
- Um, no. I will let YOU know the full story the next morning by showing you video footage. Yes.
- Excellent choice. Abandonment. Say, you’d make a great baby-daddy.
- And thanks.
- BOOTH DIES!!!!?!?!?! why would i even keep watching
- Ok, so that was premature
- I’m in Vancouver!!!!! (like u didn’t know this already?)
lov ur - Village. Um want me to bring a diagram?
- bummer! but really, i woulda just stared at his biceps the whole time…and that mighta been a tad awkward for all of us. miss you!
- That i am an example of the unrighteous? And do you want to do something tomorrow might?
- When he said “spur” I totally thought he said “sperm”
- (moo)
02.09.09
Bonus Round!
I was thinking of how many of my recently shared facts have backstories or caveats or further thoughts attached to them. So I thought I’d share a few.
1. I have studied 5 different languages: French, German, Russian, Spanish & Old English.
I also speak a handful of Mandarin (can you speak a handful of something?) and soon Arabic. Language and linguistics fascinate me. My most fond class memory from university is of an hour-long lecture devoted to Taboo Words and Their Role in Society or something like that.
2. I can’t play baseball. Not at all. I can’t throw, I can’t catch, and I don’t know how to connect the bat to the ball.
My favourite sports are soccer and ultimate frisbee. I love them both. Except for when they result in my getting dirty. I don’t handle dirt well, especially when combined with being either cold or wet.
3. I was instrumental in the breaking of my little brother’s arm.
I am not a violent person – we were standing on stairs, and I stepped on the towel he was dragging…he tugged on it, and when I lifted my foot, he pulled & fell backwards onto a cement floor.
4. I have kept a journal of some sort since I was 16. That adds up to a lot of books. They are all in my closet, and I rarely look at them, but when I do…it makes me happy.
I am not always super-honest in my journals. I’m honest – but I don’t always write down the stuff I am ashamed of. Ironically, my memory is good enough that I can usually fill in the blanks, eight years later.
5. In grade 8, I won the Music Award for my amazing baritone skills.
I have also, at one time or another, played the piano, trumpet, penny whistle, and guitar. I desperately want to learn to play the harmonica too.
6. I love going to new places and different cultures. Once I go to Asia and Australia, I’ll have been to all the major continents. I am going to Africa this spring, and am uber-excited.
I had a dream about going to Africa last night.
9. I am still a little bit afraid of the dark.
Irrational, I know. I am also afraid of the woods during the day. I blame it on the fact that I was once chased by a moose, which is a whole other story.
17. I would rather be blind than deaf, because I can’t imagine my life without music or eavesdropping.
I don’t know if this is entirely true. I really like seeing and reading. But everyone picks deaf over blind, and I am legitimately torn, so I side with blind.
19. I am too impatient to be really good at most things.
Like all the musical instruments I’ve learned, or sports, or computer-related things.
20. I want to publish a book or stories or poetry someday. Preferably soon.
I am not sure if self-publishing is a good thing, because I really could publish anytime I want, or a bad thing, because the quality would be that much worse. And no circulation. What’s the point of publishing if it doesn’t make me famous!?
21. I get a little bit giggly over Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan, even though they are both old enough to be my father.
I generally giggle about boys. I am sometimes annoyed with this trait, but it seems deeply ingrained.
23. The exceptions to #22 are ultimate frisbee, photography, creative writing, and babies.
I really like babies. A lot. I like them more than I like older children. Older children are annoying – this dismissive attitude is probably proof that I am not ready to be a mom.
25. If I were to summarize my life in seven words (as JFarq once asked of me), they would be: Jesus makes my life worth living.
I can count, really. It’s actually six words. Even more succinct