8 posts tagged “toronto”

More point forms:
- I downloaded Alpha Centauri. Basically wanted that game for ~ 6 years. And then I was like, "Hey. The internet is so good for that." I also learned that I do not know anything about computers, but now I have a vague idea of what an iso is.
- I also legitimately downloaded the Creature Creator demo for Spore, which is fiiiiiinally coming out sometime soon. I really enjoy it, and will likely soon get the full version less legitimately.
- Went to the cottage. 2 days, ~ 8 episodes of rain, once when I was in the kayak. Saw "Across the Universe". I kind of wanted to hate it, but couldn't. Really, it was quite good.
- Okay seriously it rains all the time. Allll the time.
- So things with Professor are going famously! I suppose I should have provided interim updates since the last thing I said was that it was questionable, but everything seems to have smoothed out. Yayyy. I really like him. And we're going to spend my favourite holiday, aka Canada Day, together. Erm, magical...?
- Work yadda yadda. I have this week off. Gotta get my fill of Toronto before I'm off to the hinterlands come this weekend.
- Saw 2046. Not so great. Bad one, Mr Wong. (Interlude: Watched it with Professor. Putting my arm around someone makes me feel manly!)
- (Please note that Professor is but a nickname.... dating a real professor would imply a creepy age difference.)
- Free Harbourfront shows! (Nothing I like, though...)
- Okay so apparently starting a sentence with "As well," meaning also, is something we only do in Canada. I have Canadian and American neighbours: confirm? thoughts?
- I was at Sonic Boom! today (bought Milk Man and Intercontinental Champion), and some woman asked me "Excuse me, do you work here?" WHAT A COMPLIMENT!
- I finished Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, which was really good. And set in TO! This was my second excellent Cory Doctorow, so I certainly recommend him. Oh and you can get I think most of his books for free on his website sooo.
- This song:

Deerhoof - Giga Dance

Deerhoof

I am actually still alive.

- I went on a roadtrip to northern Ontario for work. Really different. Most teachers there hate their lives, soooo.... not doing that, careerwise.
- I kind of hate work these days (compare entries from when I was just starting). Maybe it's just because of training, which is dull.
- I went to a street festival today, and it was really good. Bloor from Christie to Lansdowne (far!).
- I really like Milkis these days. Seems totally weird but it's actually amazing! The only soft drink I like.
- I met a boy called Professor on Sunday. I really like him, but he "does not feel as strongly" towards me, though he was "open to the idea". On reflection, I'm not sure whether by "the idea" he meant a relationship or sex, but I'm kind of hoping more for the former. Uh so that kind of sucks. However, I see this as somewhat positive. When that whole business with Samurai happened, I thought to myself (silly), "Oh I like him so much, what if I always have him in the back of my mind.... I won't ever find anyone that seems as compatible as he does." Blah blah blah. But Professor is just as suitable, and I already like him more than I ever liked Samurai. Well maybe. Not quite as much, but it's more positive. I was too fixated on Samurai. Though I am very wary of how I'm getting into that relationship "mood tide": I'm happier than my average happy when I have a good time with Prof, but am more mopey than average when... well when he says things like "I don't feel as strongly towards you as you do towards me." Not that that surprised me, because I seem to always (and I mean in friendships and my love life) like/appreciate/love people at least slightly more than they do me. But I know I'm just emotionally intense.
- I seriously like this Milkis stuff. You should try it! If you didn't click on the wiki-link, it's a Korean soft-drink, so look for it where you'd find that. Difficult perhaps for those that don't live like 5 minutes from the "Korean Business Area".
- I intended for this post to be short. I did not intend to discuss Professor, so there you go.

Fuck I had a good day. I packed myself a little picnic of depressing veggie sandwiches and walked down Bathurst to the Lake. I had [afternoon] lunch and read in the Music Garden, then wandered around Harbourfront and the CN Tower area, then walked back up Rees Street, spent a little time in another park, then proceeded home on Beverley.

It was lovvvely out.

Man I just remembered how craaaazy I was about The Mars Volta in high school. Like... insane fanboy. I just heard a song of theirs. Brings me back. And actually... I stopped listening to them when my tastes turned more like "indie pop"-wise, but now I'm kind of heading back in that musical direction anyway. You always get back to where you started. And I really do mean started. Growing up, I pretty much thought that my only musical options were a) the crap you saw on like "Much Music", and b) classical/jazz/etc. But there was so much more... And I'd say The Mars Volta was the first band I really liked. And by liked I mean loved. Of course nowadays they're more under the "Much Music crap" category. But it can't be helped.

Aaaanyway.

I just got back from a newmindspace pillow fight in Nathan Phillips Square (in front of city hall). Sooo fun. I totally went at it for an hour plus, and it went by so quickly. I'm a little dazed, I slightly chipped a tooth, and I think I swallowed a couple feathers (seriously), but it was hella hella fun. If all exercise were like that, I would totally be in shape. And I think it's a great thing those guys are doing. This is my city, I pay taxes (do I), and I am going to have fun in my public spaces. This is the first event by them I've been to, but they do lots of other stuff, like streetcar parties, and I look forward to it!

Story time. Thursday I went to work for a meeting. Oh PS, because our company is underbooked, I work like 2 or 3 days per week YET get paid salary, as if I work every day. It's unbelievable. But anyway, so we're all in there, and there'd been this other breakfast meeting before, so there was food left over which we were allowed to indulge in. And though I had just eaten, free food always stimulates my appetite. So I wolfed back a couple bagels and took a grape juice. I complained that it tasted like cough syrup grape, and someone said "Hey remember when you were a kid and they had those banana-flavoured antibiotics?" And we discussed that. I never had that stuff. Well actually I mentioned it to my mom and she said I did, but I was 2 so I can't be expected to remember.

Later that day, I met up with some Garg (newspaper) friends in the office. We sat around while one of our friends burned CDs for his show later that night. Then we went out for burritos (Big Fat Burrito, highly recommended), and after, I wanted popsicles. I got one of those red-white-blue ones, and my friend Diego got a banana-flavoured one. (You can see this coming). I said "I hate banana", and what does Emily say? "Hey remember when you were a kid and you had that banana-flavoured penicillin." So of course I was like "no way, oh my god", blah blah blah.

The show was good. Afterwards, we went to a bar. Usually I'm too scared for this, as I'm 18, but I figured fuck it. I didn't drink anyway, for reasons that are another story. But everyone else did. So some girl I do not know the name of was having some sort of fancy beer, and she says "Hmm... has a fruity aftertaste. Almost like... bananas." Yes. And as soon as she says it, someone pipes up, "Hey remember when you had that banana-flavoured amoxicillin as a kid." Thank goodness Emily was there, or else my subsequent spaz over it being the third instance in one day would have been lost on uncaring ears.

So I thought it was a weird coincidence.

Doors Open Toronto was today. It was good. A), I got to explore a lot of cool buildings, which I do when I'm not allowed to anyway, but this time I had explanations and could get into more places. And B), I enjoy any time when everyone is out and about in the city, a la Nuit Blanche. Note that I know that "a" needs an accent grave, but the alt-shortcuts for accents don't seem to exist for laptop. But anyway, people were wandering about, it was sunny, I got to go for long walky-walk.

There are greenhouses on top of the Biology building, and every time I see my grandmother she asks if I've "gotten up there" yet. And then last week I saw a poster for the Cell and Systems Biology Union giving a tour! So naturally I hit that up. And it was pretty damn awesome. I'm obviously a little green-starved, since a) this has been the longest winter in several years, and b) I'm now in the city, so it was good to be around plants. Especially plant-smell. Even algae. I miss chlorophyll.... And there were flowers, and fruits (kumquat), and the greenhouses even had lizards, birds, turtles, and fish. And the guys who showed us around talked about soil and pots and a whole bunch of horticultural stuff, so it was quite educational. And it was waaarm. Oh they had a desert house, and I do so love xerophytes!

Oh and it was funny - I think there must be some rule that people who work in the Botany department must wear at least one item of green clothing at all times, because they were. And I'm not talking some sort of uniform. I mean all sorts of green shirts, sweaters, sweatpants, cords, skirts. Didn't get any confirmation, but I'll bet there was some green skivvies action going on.

My jade plant is still doing well. And! I took my Flytrap out of hibernation and it's already put up two new traps. It grows really fast, although not very big. Now I just need some flies... I'm hesitant to fertilize it myself.

I love how the grass is already green outside - as soon as the snow melts off it, the lawns look springy. The city is waking up fast. Been waiting so long, I guess.

And of course to enjoy this day of nature, I will be spending the remainder of it locked in our giant concrete library.

Happy new year all! Congratulations and be prosperous!

Today was a good day. I was in charge of the New Year festivities for my house, and although I didn't get a whole lot together in terms of entertainment, everyone was together, which is the whole point.

I left the preparations until the last minute, of course, but I got pretty into it once I got to it. I even went to the trouble of wearing the only combination of clothes I could figure out that featured red (good luck) and no black or white (bad luck). A friend and I went down on Spadina to poke around the shops for stuff to decorate with, and for food. I always feel so much more... alive when I'm down there. More people, more colour, more smells! We went into this grocery store, and it was such a strong contrast with American grocery stores. People were bustling around, everything was vibrant, there was every sort of food imaginable (and lots of things I hadn't imagined). It was nothing like... giant stores, fluorescent lights, don't make eye contact with anyone you pass in the aisles, cereal now enriched with Vitamins A through P and with 23% less trans fat!, giant grocery stores now with photo-developing centres, clothing sections, roller coasters. No, this felt much more human. Humane. I try to avoid this kind of thinking, buy god damn, American culture really sucks the life out of you, doesn't it.

I'm glad there's still something left that's at least mostly untouched.

Anyway, it was a great experience, and the event went well. Lots of decorating, food. Friends. Which is most important.

Toronto once again demonstrates his skill as a climatic quick-change artist, disappearing behind a screen of darkness for but a night and emerging changed from his near spring form into one of new winter again!

I must admit that though the ever-fluctuating season can be frustrating, it is ensuring that the snow is always new and white, and only rarely that horrid black crust and slush so characteristic of a winter city.

I am out of the funk I was in earlier this week. "There are other fish in the sea", I suppose. Whaaaatever.

I told 3 other friends last night. Less enjoyable - they reported being not as surprised as the first person I told. Sheesh, they could've at least pretended, haha.

I saw Atonement again. I'm glad. I rarely see movies or read books twice because I know I won't be able to recapture the feeling of the first time, but I noticed new details, and it was just as emotional as the first time. Well nearly - I did, after all, know the ending.

Dad is back from China! It sounds like it was an excellent trip, and I'm going home this weekend for the full run-through. And laundry.