Mishmash

I have a mishmash of things to post about, so instead of a coherent post about one topic, here's bunch of random stuff, yet again.

1) I'm staying up late doing laundry because that's how I party it up during summer vacay. As I was taking a load out of the washer, I came across a pair of strange man's underpants in amongst my stuff. I guess that's one of the joys of sharing laundry facilities: people don't always check if they leave stuff in the washers and I don't check before I start, although I might start that practice now. Blah. Oh well, at least they were most likely clean before they came into contact with my laundry; unless some strange dude is breaking into my apartment and leaving his underwear in amongst my laundry. Ew.

2) The answer to my mail riddle from my previous post is that the letter to the UK arrived first, then the one to Winnipeg, and finally the one to Etobicoke, which is basically the west end of Toronto. Well done Canada Post.

3) I had such a lovely Friday in honour of my friend Jane's birthday. I was totally playing the role of a rich lady who lunches and I liked it. We had lunch at a posh downtown restaurant thanks to the reasonable prix fixe as a result of Summerlicious. The food was excellent and I had a great glass of wine. Check out the presentation of my dessert which was a cherry pudding with vanilla ice cream. It was amazing.

After lunch we headed to the luxury of the spa. We had enough time to relax in the whirlpool before having massages. I was so relaxed after lunch and the spa brought me to a new level of relaxation.

4) The rest of my weekend was pretty lazy. I did see "Despicable Me" which I really liked.

5) Tomorrow I'm driving Miss Rilo to my parents' house so they can take care of her while I'm on my trip. It's so funny to think that last year, my dad was really against Rilo staying with them, and now he asks me "when's Rilo going to come visit next?" She loves being at my parents'; she just hates the car ride there.

Anyway, my laundry is done now, so I should go to bed. I want to be on the road by 10 am, which is an early appointment for me to keep on vacay!

Darling, I'm with saint bernards and we're scouring the Alps and the Andes.

A post of random.

1) I am listening obsessively to the new Los Campesinos! EP "All's Well That Ends". It's four alternate songs from "Romance is Boring" that are more stripped down and bare than the originals. You can download the EP here.

2) About a week and a half ago, I mailed out stuff to friends in Etobicoke, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and London, England. You can play a fun game and guess in which order the items arrived.

3) I love Starbucks VIA iced coffee. It's the instant stuff that you make at home. You just put a pack in a shaker with water, and voila! Deliciousness. I started drinking it during the heat wave 'cuz it was too hot for real coffee, and now I have some every morning. Each pack makes 2 big glasses, so it's like $0.50 per serving. It's sad that Becca T is no longer here to share with me, but more coffee for me, I suppose.

4) I have booked the hotels for my Cape Cod/Boston road trip. I'm going with my pal Veronica from high school. I've always been blessed in the fact that every summer I find a great travel buddy to embark with on an adventure.

We leave from St. Ratford on Sunday August 1st. Our itinerary is that the first night we're going to stay at a resort in the Berkshires (a mountainous area in Western Massachusetts) to break up the driving a bit. Nights two through four will be spent in Cape Cod, and nights five through seven will be spent on the outskirts of Boston. Our outskirts hotel is super nice, and within walking distance of commuter train station. It saves us a lot of money since parking is free, and the rates are way cheaper than in the city. It'll only take us 30 minutes to get to Boston by train.

Now all we have to do is fill in what funtivities we'll do while we are there! Oh, and all of our hotels have free wifi, and my laptops coming with us, so expect vacay posts! Did I mention that we're taking Vern's convertible? I don't think I did. But that's def worth mentioning!

5) I love the time that summer vacay allows me to spend with friends. I spent my afternoon with my work spouse (or best work friend as normal people might say). She's moved into my neighbourhood and her new place is a nice 10 minute bike ride from mine.

Tomorrow, I'm celebrating a friend's birthday by going out for a summerlicious lunch, and then we are going to the spa for massages. Relaxation to the max!

6) My lovely pal Siobhan sent me the link to a post about internet grammar on the hilarious blog Hyperbole and A Half. I think a lot of you would enjoy this blog, 'cuz it's very funny. The post about never being an adult reminds me of me. INTERNET FOREVER!

7) I own about a billion unread books, however none of them were appealing for me to start this evening. Instead, I walked down to my fave cheap neighbourhood bookstore and picked up a novel called "What the Body Remembers". I hope it's good. I'm going to stay up late reading it tonight. Well unless I drift off.

8) Well, my calendar tells me that tomorrow's Friday, so I hope you all have great weekends!

A post about stuff.

The past five days have been an awesome whirlwind of busyness. I just woke up from passing out on my couch for an evening nap, and I was going to just write a quick post, but Rawbean had asked on twitter if I was going to post pics of stuff from my shopping trip to the US, so I am going to do that instead of lazing out and just using my words.

Here's the breakdown of the whirlwind.

On Thursday, BT and I did some shopping on Queen St. I got a basket for my bike, a cool camping hat, and some shorts from lululemon that I'd been looking at for a long time. I will post a picture of the basket on my bike once I install it.

On Friday, BT and I went for mani/pedis and sushi for dinner. We had a quiet night since we had to prepare for our shopping marathon on Saturday.

And here is the loot from Saturday's marathon!

a) Shiny stuff from Coach: I've been in the market for a smaller purse and it was love at first sight with the one below. Look how it has a removable long strap (for every day use) as well as a short strap (more dressy use)! It was 40% off! Oh and it's dark purple inside! I have been wanting a Coach wallet as well, so I got the cute purple one below. I'm tired of carrying a larger wallet.

b) I got this cute headband to wear at the wedding I went to on Sunday. The thing with short hair is that it's tricky to dress up, but neat headbands can do the trick!

c) Some random cheap costume jewelry. I wore the big bracelet to the wedding.

d) I loved these sparkly bird earrings as soon as I spied them. I got them even though they weren't exactly a bargain but they are so cute and are so me!

e) I loved this ring from Macy's. It was on sale too! I also wore it to the wedding. As you can tell, I was pretty blinged out at this wedding. Also, note the nice nails from Friday's manicure!

f) Being the school supply that nerd I am, I bought this cute notebook and some pretty pens that will no doubt come in handy once I have to mark again. I did also buy some really nice black pants for work for cheap at the Gap outlet. It killed me to buy something for back to school, but when I can get pants for $28 there that I'd pay $75 for here, I had to do it, even though I really didn't want to think about going back to work.

g) This is the yummy flavour of Crystal Light that's not available here. I bought a modest five boxes of it. Princess Pessimism asked if it's that good, and yes is it!

We did get back pretty late that night, and seriously, both BT and I felt pretty tired from the trip on Sunday.

Which, of course was the day of the wedding! It was for my friend Flora, who BT and I met in our university residence almost twelve years ago! Flora and I also did teachers' college at the same time, and we have traveled a lot together (Australia, UK, and the Maritimes). She is an amazing friend. The wedding was beautifully organized, and I have to admit that I constantly got emotional since she is such a great friend and I'm so happy for her. I also love her parents, and it was so touching to hear their speech and how happy they are for their daughter.

It was a lovely and fun evening, and here are some silly pictures of stuff from the wedding.

a) I wore my highest heels to the wedding. Now, I've wore these shoes to two other weddings plus this year's prom. However, I think my legs were so tired from the shopping marathon, that it just wasn't working. In between the ceremony and reception, BT and I hit up the Oshawa mall and went straight to Payless, where I got these cute flats for $14. Note the cute pedicure.

b) Isn't this dessert so cute? And trust me, it was tasty!

c) We got these bird salt and pepper shakers as favours. Love them! And that cute Chinese takeout box had personalized chocolate-covered fortune cookies in them, which were very yummy to eat at 1:30 am as BT and I were chatting after the wedding in my apt.

Even though last night was super late, BT and I dragged ourselves out of bed and hit the gym. This evening, we went for one last sushi dinner with BT's sister who was in town to pick her up. Sadly, my temporary roomie for the past two weeks is gone and I'll miss her. :( She's back to France in a month and I don't know if I'll get to see her 'cuz she's in Ottawa, and I gotta hit Stratford, Boston, and go camping. Oh well, I did get two whole weeks of BT time, so I can't be too sad!

This week, I'll be working on planning my Boston trip, and doing some apartment cleaning/organizing. The first is fun, the second is vastly necessary. Hope you all have fantabulous weeks!

If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it.

I think the heat is denaturing my brain these days. I CONSTANTLY have the above Beyonce song in my head.

Becca T and I have been watching a lot of shite on Youtube lately. I wake up in the morning and the first words out of my mouth are "Full on double rainbow! What does it mean?" or "I'm on a horse." Seriously, I need to go to something cultural and uplifting like going to the theatre. (Note: I'm hearing great things about Rock of Ages and would really like to see it. Perhaps a date with the work spouse?)

Anyway, we're off on a shopping trip to the States! What am I going to buy? Something shiny and pretty at Coach and a bunch of Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Lemonade, that's what.

Happy weekends folks!

I can see your halo and don't it feel good?

I spent an evening getting reacquainted with my old friend television. I haven't spent an evening watching so much TV in a long time. I started with some Jeopardy! (I totally would have won), then watched Hot in Cleveland (that show makes me laugh), then caught part of the Bachelorette. I haven't been watching this season, but from what I saw I liked the guy she sent home so boo to her. Becca T and I both didn't like the dude with glasses; his V-neck shirt was too low and he had beady eyes. After the Bachelorette, we caught a silly show called True Beauty and finished with an episode of Glee from my DVD collection (hence the title of this post).

Whoa, when I write it all down, that seems like a lot of TV. It was. I commented to Becca T that my butt was feeling sore from sitting so much. She replied "that means you're getting a good workout." I like how she thinks.

At least I wasn't completely slothful; I did get some laundry done in the meantime.

Other than my night of heroic TV watching, I've been quite busy these days. I often have people ask me if I can handle the two months off without getting bored. I always say it's no problem; summers are way busier than you'd ever think. I spend a lot of my time getting caught up with the people and tasks that sometimes get lost in the craziness of the school year.

The Metric show on Friday night was amazing. The Molson Ampitheatre was packed and with good reason. Emily and co. put on a spectacular show. Metric has definitely one of the best live shows out there, and you guys know that I do go to a lot of concerts, so I know my shit. :)

Since the show I've been busy going out for late night breakfast, sushi, one-year old's birthday parties, pho + ice cream dinners, and a proper late morning breakfast. It's amazing how many people I've been able to see so far this summer. It truly makes me appreciate all of the wonderful people in my life.

Oh! And I also caught the World Cup final game in the midst of all of that. I watched the whole game, and I have to admit that I liked it, even though I don't understand off-sides, yellow cards, and all that stuff.

Becca T is still with me for another week. This week has some down time for me, but I've got a dentist appointment, a mani-pedi, a US shopping trip, and a wedding to keep me busy. Again, totally no time to get bored.

And, this week I'll have more time to get back to the gym and read some more. I'm slogging my way through Sybil. The first 200 pages of the book were great, but it's lost steam and I just want to be done with it. I have about 50 pages left. I can't wait to start on something new.

Hope the rest of you are enjoying this wonderful summer month too!

Come on, baby, play me something like, "Here Comes the Sun"

I woke up to rain, glorious rain, this morning and I couldn't be happier. I think the insane heatwave we've been having is going to break finally.

It's been a busy week. Becca T arrived on Tuesday evening, and I've been able to spend some good quality time with her. One of the things that has been priority for us is to spend time in air-conditioned places, so we've been going to lots of coffee shops, random movies, and the like.

I hope that the rain takes a bit of a break this evening because I'm going to see Metric at the Moslon Ampitheatre. I have covered seats, but not everyone is so lucky, so I hope it stops. I'm very excited for the show though.

This weekend I have a lot of socializing to do which makes me happy. Hope you all have good weekends too. :)

But holidays are made for reading...

... especially when the temperatures with the humidex reaches over 40 degrees Celsius. The title of this post comes from the song "Things to Forget" by Sarah Harmer. It always runs through my head when I spend a good deal of time reading during my holidays.

This post is going to be about the book that I'm currently reading and how I discovered it. Summertime usually allows me to discover some weird true story that I become a little bit obsessed with. Last year, it was the story of Jackie O's eccentric and destitute cousins that is portrayed in the movie "Grey Gardens". I highly recommend that movie. It was made last year for HBO and stars Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

I discovered this year's odd obsession when a friend of mine sent me a link to a Futurama episode that has something to do with iPhones (I haven't watched it yet). The site had all kinds of other TV shows on it, and I started to watch an episode of "The United States of Tara" that stars Toni Collette. It's about a suburban wife and mother that has multiple personalities. It was all right, but it got me to thinking about some women with multiple personalities who had written a book that I saw on Oprah when I was a kid. I started doing some googling so I could see if I could find out what happened to her. My research lead me to Sybil, who is an early case of multiple personalities before the woman on Oprah.

Sybil is a book about a woman with multiple personalities written by a journalist. It is based largely upon her treatment by her psychiatrist and her own experiences. It was made into two made-for-TV movies: a 1976 adaptation starring Sally Field, and a 2007 version.

I found the Sally Field version on YouTube in 19 parts. I started to watch it and became hooked. First of all, they don't make movies like this anymore. It was originally shown on two nights, so it's pretty long (3 hrs). This gave a lot of time for character/setting development. I found that the movie was really detailed, and at first I thought "man, this is slow" but at the end I appreciated it because I got to know the character(s) and how she lived. Her apartment was featured a lot, and I feel like I got to know it, and its posters of cats, very well.

Sally Field is a really amazing actress in it. She does a great job of portraying Sybil and her other personalities. All together Sybil had 16 personalities, but only maybe six were shown in the movie. But Sally did a great job of showing the differences between them. Oh and the scenes with Sybil's mother were super creepy! I recommend the 1976 version of the movie, but only if you have time and patience.

I tried to watch the 2007 version which is much shorter but I couldn't really get into it. I will give it another shot, but frankly, I missed Sally.

I wasn't quite ready to leave the world of Sybil and her other personalities, so I decided to pick up the book. According to the cover, the book was a huge bestseller back in the 70s. I am LOVING it! It's non-fiction, but it reads like a novel, and it's very well done. I'm about halfway through, and it's obviously way more in-depth than the movie. I think the movie was a good adaptation, but I'm enjoying getting to know the story more through the book.

And that's the strange reading that I've been doing in the heat of my holidays. But seriously, I so love discovering some neat story that was always there just waiting for me to find it in some random way.

I died so I could haunt you.

Forgive the gothiness of the title of this post. It's from the Stars song of the same name and I really like the song.

Anyway, the theme of this post is summer, so far, in point form.

• lots of sunshine and heat
• searching for the perfect pair of camping pants takes me two days
• but it's pretty sweet when I find them; gotta go return the reject pair sometime
• listening to a lot of Broken Social Scene, Stars, and Sarah Harmer
• my shoulders are red from a bike ride in the sun in a tank top with no sunblock (shame on negligent me)
• Rilo likes to play and sleep in my translucent turquoise dining room curtains
• it's not the best idea to bake homemade mac 'n cheese on a hot night when one doesn't have AC... but it's still a good idea, just not the best.
• talked to Becca T on her Canadian summer cell phone... she's here in two days!
• I should not buy any more books, but Indigo just had a buy 3 get one free sale, and I discovered a weird book from the 70s about a woman with multiple personalities that I just had to read which prompted me to partake in the sale
• there's a lovely plant on my dining room table from a colleague to whom I lent a bunch of resources for summer school (note: I am against me teaching summer school... ever.)
• I want to get up for a 9:30 am yoga class tomorrow... but there's also one at 7 pm.... will I make it with that knowledge?

Hope you are all enjoying the beginning of July too.

Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me.

Welcome to a post with a focus: a movie review! You don't see that around here very often, that's for sure.

On Thursday, I headed downtown to see the Broken Social Scene Movie "This Movie is Broken". I totally would have seen it last weekend, but you know, riots downtown meant the theatre was closed.

The movie takes place in the summer of 2009 in Toronto. It was nice be reminded of that summer, and the city-wide garbage strike with the heaps of garbage being dumped in parks, and the smell, oh, the smell.

Broken Social Scene were supposed to do their annual concert on the island, but the ferry drivers were also on strike, so the concert was canceled. Instead, they decided to put on a free show at the Harbourfront.

If you know me, you'd assume that I would have been there at that show with proverbial bells on, but alas, I was the MC for a good friend's wedding that weekend, so I had caught a train to St. Ratford for that event.

Luckily for me, they decided to make a movie of the event! Woot! The movie is very different in that it shows a lot of footage of the show, with a fictional love story wound around the show itself. I loved the idea. Here, watch the trailer:

The concert footage amazing. It was hard to keep myself from clapping during the performances. Seeing the show made me really eff-ing wish that I could have been there, but seriously, seeing it in a theatre is the next best thing.

The love story was all right. It was really sweet at the beginning, but then it sort of fizzled a bit. However, the more important love story was the band's love of Toronto. Even though their big show was cancelled, they put on a free hometown show, and pulled out all the stops, as you can see from the number of people on the stage. Toronto, garbage strike and all, looked fabulous in the movie, and it made me glad that I'm going to spend most of my summer in the city.

Anyway, overall, I'd give the music part of the music 5/5 and the story 3/5. That averages out to a healthy 4/5. It's only playing in Toronto and Vancouver right now, but I'm sure the DVD will be out soon enough.

Here is someone's footage of what was my favourite song in the movie. It's "Anthems for a 17-year old girl" and seriously, if you were ever a 17-year old girl or even just liked one at some point, I challenge you not to fall in love with this song. Seeing Emily (from Metric), Feist, and Amy (from Stars) sing together on this song is amazing. Again, it's too bad I wasn't there, but I had to spend time with all of my best friends from when I was a 17-year old girl. I'm so happy they made this movie though.

Hope you are all having a great weekend. It's bike-ride in the heat time for me! Movie review done.

At 3 am, they play Oh Canada.

Happy Canada Day everyone!

This afternoon, I'm going to check out the Broken Social Scene movie "This Movie is Broken" and then go for dinner. It will make for a very Canadian day since I'll be watching a Canadian movie, eating at a local restaurant owned by Canadians, and I'm sure I'll make a Tim Horton's run at some point today.

I've been enjoying the start of my summer a lot. On Thursday night, we had a very nice graduation ceremony for my favourite graduating class ever. I'm going to miss those kids a lot. After grad, I went out for dinner with four of my favourite work friends, and that dinner morphed into a very late and very fun night. I needed one of those.

Yesterday was our year-end party and now I'm stress free for two whole months. I love it!

Well, I'm going to go for a bike ride this morning and then head out. I will leave you with my annual Canada Day tradition: listening to this song at least once.

Maybe my carefree's been careless.

Well that's essentially it: another school year put to rest. Tonight I'm going to graduation, then tomorrow's our year-end staff party, and that's it. Two months of rest, relaxation, and renewal.

Oddly enough, I always feel a bit of melancholy at this time of year. It's especially ironic because I spend a lot of time in May/June counting down to this moment. I think it has to do with the drastic negative acceleration that the pace of my normal day-to-day life takes. Two weeks ago, I was still teaching and finishing up all of my extra-curriculars. One week ago, I was busy marking exams and writing report cards. Today, I finished cleaning up my desk, and then I locked everything up and handed in my keys to the office, as per annoying regulations.

I think the source of this melancholy is that I feel somewhat unneeded. From September until June, I always have someone who is asking me questions, trying to break a rule, talking me into taking on another huge extracurricular project, wanting my approval, nagging me to see if I've marking the latest quiz/test/lab report, telling me a silly joke, asking for an extra copy of something they should not have lost, or listening intently to what I'm saying. For the next two months, fewer people need my attention, and at the beginning it just feels really really weird.

I know the feeling will fade by Friday, when I get to sleep in and have a leisurely morning coffee while watching crappy TV and then going for a bike ride or whatever I please. But it just amazes me how every year at this time I feel the exact same way. You gotta love the cyclical rhythm of a school year.

But yeah, summer! I have a lot of goals for this summer, but they all more or less fall under the theme of getting my life in order. I've got a good start on that because I've written important events on my calendar and I've made appointments for both the doctor and dentist.

Next up: I really have to start planning my road trip to Boston. I bought a New England travel guide about a month ago, and I haven't even cracked it open yet.

Oh! And it looks like I'm going to go on a camping trip in August. Real, actual camping in the wilderness with hiking and tents and all that jazz. I've never ever done that, and I'm sure it's going to provide this blog with a lot of entertainment.

Becca T will be arriving soon and we'll have all kinds of shenanigans on the go.

I'm also going to have more time to read. Can you believe that I just finished a book that took me a month to read? Thank goodness it was just essays: I don't think I could spread a novel out that long and still follow the plot.

Anyway, thinking of all of the exciting things that I have going on for the summer is making me miss my little hooligans less. How fast that feeling fades.

This doesn't feel right.

I'm pretty sure that all Torontonians are finding today surreal.

It's not the typical Saturday when I keep my TV glued to the CBC to watch violence unfold in my very own downtown core.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that most Saturdays I'd be heading downtown myself. That's not even an option today because the downtown section of the subway is shut down. And it wouldn't even feel safe to go downtown, which feels all sorts of wrong.

The pre-G20 changes have been visible all week. There have been police everywhere. Earlier in the week I saw police carrying riot gear on the subway. That's definitely a sight that makes you feel like you are living in a police state.

However, that is nothing compared to watching thousands of police in full riot gear covering the city's streets on TV today. Then, when the footage of police cruisers on fire, shattered windows, and people being arrested hit the TV, things felt even more wrong. That is not how my city is supposed to look.

And then finding out that the provincial government has passed laws in secret that allow citizens to be arrested for not providing ID while near the G20 security zone? That doesn't feel right either. Not even the mayor knew about that law.

This summit is apparently costing about 1.2 billion dollars. That's more than the government of Malawi spends in a year. That definitely does not feel right.

Clearly, violence was expected, hence the huge security budget. I wonder why this summit has to be held in Toronto's downtown core. Surely, holding a summit like this in a place that is less accessible to the public would be cheaper, inconvenience fewer people, and would be harder to be accessed by violent protesters.

Kudos to the peaceful protestors. Peaceful protest is the cornerstone of democracy. More than 99% of the protesters today were peaceful, and we can't forget that among the scenes of violence of the vast minority.

I can't wait for this summit to be over so my city can go back to normal.

p.s. Reading @spaikin's tweets doesn't feel right either.

The city is to blame for us.

Even though my parade (read: environmental science pizza party in the park) was rained on today (postponed 'til Sept 'cuz of thunderstorms), I had an awesome day!

Why?

1) I got all of my marking DONE and my report cards DONE. No assessment for two months kids!

2) I got tickets in the presale for Stars' October show at Massey Hall. And, I did so in a hilarious fashion. The website wasn't working on my computer at school, so I had to phone Mathew to do the work for me. Now, the Stars ticket is his birthday present, so I found it hilarious not only did I ruin the surprise, I also made him do the work himself.

3) I met up with my friend Stacey to see Sarah Harmer at the Palais Royale. It was a great show! The venue is awesome! I've never seen a show there, but it's right on the lake, and before the show you have plenty of time to chill on the patio and have drinks by the lake. The rain had cleared up by then so it was perfect.

Sarah was great. The new songs all sounded wonderful, and I'm so digging her new album. I highly recommend it. She played a lot of old stuff too. Probably the highlight for me was her great environmental song "Escarpment Blues" and "Lodestar". I love the crescendo in "Lodestar".

Anyway, tomorrow I have a student council lunch, followed by fun evening plans. And then Thursday is cleaning up at work day. I love this time of year when it's all winding down and summer starts to go in full swing.

Thousands of ghosts in the daylight

Holy! It's been a busy four days. Here's a rundown:

Friday - Free NXNE show at Yonge-Dundas Square. Said the Whale were okay. I really liked their performance of "Camilo". K-Os was really great, but while he was on stage the old Sloan line "it's not the band I hate, it's their fans" ran through my head many times because there was a little dude in a green shirt and his pals who were smoking up, drinking beer, and dancing up a storm. Little dude kept bumping into me with his sweaty back and stepped on my feet too. However, K-Os' set was great. Highlights were Crabbuckit, and the closing "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman". Oh, and I should mention that he opened by sampling Rush's "Tom Sawyer" which I did not sufficiently appreciate.

Anyway, Sloan put on a great rock show. You can't go wrong with Sloan. They opened with "Losing California" from "Between the Bridges" which I found ironic, because that album came out when I first moved to Toronto, and I remember that there was a huge ad for it not too far from YD Square. Here's a picture taken with my iPhone. Not the greatest, but gives you an idea of the vibe.

Saturday - I woke up a little too early for my tastes, and ran to Union Station to catch the train to St. Ratford. As soon as I got there, I borrowed my parents' car and headed out to the country for a party at my friend Joanna's. It was a great time catching up with a bunch of friends and their kids. I got to meet my friend Sandra's baby for the first time, and it was a lovely afternoon in the sun with good friends. Those kinds of days make you realize how blessed you are to have such wonderful people in your life.

Sunday - Since it was Father's Day, I spent the day loading up my dad's new iTouch for him. Lots of my music went on there, plus I put some of his CDs on my computer, plus a couple of audiobooks too. He's completely into it, and my mom wants me to get her a poking stick so she can get his attention when he's listening to it. He was so funny at first because he had problems figuring out how to touch things, and got stuck on the "slide to unlock" screen.

My aunt and uncle were also in town from Ottawa so they dropped by and my uncle and I debated the fine points of evolutionary biology. He thinks I'm too strictly Darwinian. Good times.

Pizza for dinner, then it was off on a late train home. And, the late train itself was late.

Today - Got a lot of work done. All I have left to mark is one set of exams that will be written tomorrow. Will probably be done my marks tomorrow.

And, I got both the new Stars and new Sarah Harmer albums too! Right now I'm more into the Stars, which is FABULOUS, but after I see Sarah Harmer tomorrow night, I think that one will be on high rotation too.

Oh, and it's the summer solstice. Awesome. Hope you are all having a great start to your summers!

Time, you've got me running.

I'm having a great Friday so far, and have the urge to post for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.

Anyway, the weather is great, and all I had to do today was supervise a morning exam (which I'll now have to mark). After exams were done, a friend and I hit up a face sushi place for lunch, and then I had to go to a Ticketmaster outlet to pick up my Sarah Harmer tickets for Tuesday.

The outlet was in a record store, and as I walked in, I encountered a wall of cheap CDs. Usually I skim those walls and there's nothing that interests me, but I could have seriously almost bought every single CD on that wall.

I limited myself to two choices: "Lungs" by Florence + the Machine (based on rawbeans's recent post), and "If it was you" by Tegan and Sara, because I'm not sure how I don't own that one.

Then I moved onto the new release wall and was further assaulted with a bunch of CDs that I wanted. I settled on "No Ghost" by The Acorn 'cuz there's a Christmas song of theirs that I got on some free compilation last year that I really really like so I wanted to check them out further.

Once I had a pile of CDs in my hand, I went to get my tickets and had a nice conversation with the dude who printed them out for me. He was an older rock-type dude; he reminded me of Patrick from Sloan in maybe ten years from now. We discussed all of the great albums coming out next week, and how it seems like their release date has been moved from the typical Tuesday to Monday because of Eminem.

After I got my tickets and wandered to the other cash to buy my CDs, I was like "Wow! Record stores are fun! I'd forgotten. There are ppl here who will talk to you about music, and you can buy physical CDs. Too fun!" Yah, seriously, I'd forgotten what it was like to buy music in a CD store. I was dumbfounded that I'd completely forgotten the enjoyment of a record store. In fact, that very record store was one that I frequented a lot in university, so it was strange to think of how my music-buying habits have changed in less than 10 years.

As I was checking out, a different dude complimented me on the choice of The Acorn, so I was happy with my choice.

Seriously though, this summer I'm going to more record stores. Also, if I were to start listening to The National, which album should I start with? (Ahem, galapogos, that question's for you.)

All right, I'm going to indulge in an afternoon nap, the it's my free Said the Whale + K-Os + Sloan show. Woot.

Volcano girls, we really can't be beat.

In lieu of a post about something truly profound and thought-provoking, here's a list of things I like these days.

1) iTunes just played "Volcano Girls" by Veruca Salt, which is one of my face songs from the 90s. I remember buying the album "8 Arms to Hold You" quite vividly. It was on a day where I got a promotion for my crappy high school job. I also remember driving around blasting this song with friends from high school at about this time of year. Thanks for the memories, iTunes.

2) I really like this Coconut hand soap that I bought at Bath and Body Works. I think I have to go back and get other stuff in this scent 'cuz it's yummy.

3) This weekend I did some shopping at Urban Outfitters and saw this awesome owl pillow that I decided that I'd buy if it was on sale. It was! Rilo likes to chill by it.

4) I also picked up this sweater, which I've worn twice this week 'cuz I really like it.

5) I also like that I can see the end of marking in sight. I got a lot of end of term projects marked today. I have about four more sets of term-marking to do, exams, and that's it. I have a lot of loose ends to tie up next week, but finally, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting really really close!

6) I like that I have things to look forward to this weekend. Tomorrow night, there's a free NXNE show at Dundas Square with Said the Whale, K-Os, and Sloooo-oooooooan! Free Sloan! Is there anything sweeter? Nope!

7) The second thing to look forward to this weekend is that I'm heading to St. Ratford on Saturday. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to see my friend Sandra and her new baby. There's a G9 (my newest short form for the Group of Nine) pool party happening too which will be a blast.

And, I'm going to give my dad the iTouch that I got for free with my Mac, so I'm looking forward to hooking him up with some cool music. I think I will begin by alt-country-ing him out with some Neko Case, Kathleen Edwards, and Joel Plaskett. I could see my dad digging them. Before you know it, he'll be the most musically-cool dad on the block! Oh and that's not even his Father's Day gift! I shipped him the customary box of books that I ordered online, which got there yesterday, and he's happily devouring a tome about Napoleon. High fives for eccentric dads!

8) I would also like it if my blog buddies had nice weekends, so go hook yourselves up with that! :)

It's the one thing you can count on.

First of all, I never really have bad days. All in all my work days are rad and provide me with many great moments, even though there are often moments of annoyance sprinkled among them.

Today I had lots of moments of annoyance. At this time of year, everyone's emotions are running a little bit high: kids are stressed out with culminating projects and exams, and teachers are stressed with marking and end-of-year stuff. To top it all of, I'm running student council elections single-handedly, and that's something that brings up emotions, and even some nastiness, in the kids.

Anyway, after a long evening of reviewing speeches and preparing ballots, I made my way home. I had to stop at Shoppers' for some stuff, and was dismayed that they no longer were carrying my fave kind of shave gel nor my fave type of aluminum-free deodorant.

By the time I got home I was in a pretty grumpy mood. However, instead of sitting on the couch and watching something pointless on TV, I got out my City of Toronto bike map, figured out a new route, and went on an awesome bike ride. I feel sooooo much better now!

And, I'm also streaming the new Stars album, The Five Ghosts, on their website. Go to www.youarestars.com and launch the music player. I'm loving it so far, and can't wait until I get it in on my iPod next week!

I guess the moral of today's story is bike rides and streaming wonderful new albums are a cure for June annoyances.

Summer Goals

I had a fabulous weekend with lost of sleep, food, shopping, and fun. The weather was a bit rainy and dreary, but whatevs, it didn't really bring me down.

Anyway, I'm two weeks and a couple days, I think, from summer vacation. I've really gotta check my work calendar to see what the actual last day is. No matter what the exact day, summer's coming close, and I gotta figure out what I'm going to do with my time. This summer won't be as busy as most, but I am looking forward to some down time, spending time with fave people, and regaining some good habits, because it seems like all I have is bad habits these days.

The good habits that I'd like to regain this summer are:

1) Ride my bike at least 5 times per week. (When in Toronto, obvs.)

2) Go to yoga three times a week. Maybe branch out into other fitness classes too.

3) Eat healthier. Lots of fruits, veggies, (healthy) Starbucks, Subway, and sushi, usually make me feel much much better as opposed to junk food.

4) Eat out less. This one's hard 'cuz socializing usually means a lot of eating out.

5) Cook more. That'll help me with #4.

6) Read more. I haven't finished a book in FOREVER.

7) Try new things. I don't specifically know what new stuff I want to try, but I need to branch out of my safety zone more often. Summer's good for that.

I'm now to go to curl up in bed with the book I've been reading FOREVER. It'd be nice to add another finished book to my sidebar.

p.s. Just started playing around with blogger's new (to me at least) template designer. I think I like this look, but it's so easy to change, this blog might become makeover city!!!

I'm on the verge, I'm on the verge.

Quick post, 'cuz what I have to say today is pretty short and sweet.

1) I went to the Apple store three times in a row this week. Visit #1 = buy Mac. Visit #2 = bring in Mac and old computer so they could transfer my data for me. Visit #3 - pick up Mac complete with my data! Anyway, tonight is my first time really using the Mac with all of my stuff on it, and I LOVE it. It's soooo sexy.

2) I have so much stuff going on right now with work, and even with social plans too, that I don't feel organized and on-top of things, and I don't like that feeling. Work will all be cleaned up in two weeks though, which is such a nice thought, but so scary as well. I have so many loose ends to tie up in that short time. It'll all get done though. It always will. Right, Claire?

3) Thursday was Becca T's birthday. Happy birthday Becca T! I'm going to see her in about a month! I'm so excited! I miss her.

4) I'm looking forward to the weekend, but the forecast calls for thunderstorms which means no bike rides and perhaps other outdoors plans will be switched. I'm not saying Boo-urns to that!

5) Well, I've been spending so much time this evening catching up on correspondence, that it's now time to go to bed. I like sleep though, it's where I'm a viking. (Ralph Wiggum quote)

Happy weekend!

I'm back... on a Mac!

I've been planning on doing this for over a year, but a nasty virus pushed me to it.... I've crossed over to the dark side!

Long ago, I decided that once my old Toshiba hit the four year mark, I'd replace it with a MacBookPro. You gotta love a company that gives discounts to educators, even if they are relatively small. But still, it's better than nothing.

A few times I came close to making the leap last summer but I just couldn't do it. I still knew that the old Toshiba had a lot of life left in her.

Anyway, fastforward almost a year later, and there's a permanent red line on my laptop and then it got hit with a virus. Now, of course, if I hadn't planned on buying a new computer this summer, I would have fixed the virus. But why bother when I'd already made the decision?

I decided to make the leap today after school. It was a pretty awesome shopping experience. Not only did I score a new computer, but I got a free iPod Touch as part of their back-to-school promo. I'm going to give it to my dad. I also got a $100 off a printer, and I figured I might as well go for it since my printer is way old and I dunno even know if it works anymore.

And what's even cooler, and impressive to me, is that I can bring in my old laptop and have them transfer all of my data for me. Woot! That's on my to-do list for this week.

I laugh at myself that it's not even summer, and I've more or less spent a good portion of my summer paycheque on a bike and a new computer, but at least I'll be ready for a great summer!

Post from the iPhone.

My laptop has contracted an annoying virus and will no longer connect to the Internet. Thankfully, my data is OK, and I can do non-Internet related stuff like write exams for work. I was going to get a new computer this summer anyway, so I'm just going to move up the buying date to sooner.

Last night was the prom. The kids had a blast. This year's group of grads are my favourite ever.

Tonight I'm making veggie tikka masala and sangria. I don't think they especially go together but I have the ingredients for both so that's how I plan a menu. Hoping to get some cleaning and a bike ride in first.

Tomorrow is a lot of work. Boo!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!!!

Hands down.

I think that turning thirty has done me a world of good. I feel like everything's been coming up Christielli since I've turned thirty, and I like it.

Yesterday was the big event that I organized at school and it went off without a hitch. It was a multicultural day at my school, and it consisted of an assembly, and an afternoon where kids got to go around to seventeen different pavilions of different countries and sample food, music, and party. Probably at least a hundred volunteers (staff and students) came together to make the day happen, but I was the organizer and I am pretty proud that I pulled it together.

My elves on student council were big helps too. Not only did they complete the tasks that I assigned to them, they were the ones who said "we can do it Miss!" and then reminded me yesterday "See, we were right! We pulled it off!" So yah, it's a great feeling when you pull off something huge that pulls an entire community together, and you have your own cheering section helping you out. But seriously, it was such a great experience witnessing so many people coming together under my leadership. (Somehow... I've never considered myself a leader, but I surprise myself.) It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me, and that's a great feeling. Also, it was so nice to be thanked and congratulated by other staff and students alike. Yay me!

Anyway, so since I've been thirty, I've pulling off some great stuff professionally. Actually, I have to say that it's been happening all school year, but this was the school year when I turned thirty, so I'll attribute it all to that.

Also, I'm super happy personally as well. I love my apartment, my friends, my family, new company, my cat, and my new bike. I wish I could have gone on a bike ride tonight, but it's raining, so argh! I should be marking and writing exams, but my brain has gone into vacation mode, and work isn't happening.

But overall, my life is in the upward swing that I really needed when I was feeling emo in the fall/early winter. Alanis was so right when she said:

"And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face"

Cheesy 90's song reference for the win!

ps Don't point out that there's the opposite lyric in that song. I've already had that happen, so I think I'm good.

Happy List

Here's a list of things that have made me happy in the past 48 or so hours:

a) Bike rides! Went on a great one yesterday. Sadly, was too busy with work to get one in today.

b) My apartment is pretty neat right now. What's with that?

c) Sushi. Of course!

d) Meeting nice people.

e) Gelato.

f) The New Pornographers' song "My Shepherd". Love how Neko's voice sounds in this one.

g) Going flag shopping after school with student council. I love that you can head to Kensington Market and easily and quickly get any flag you want for $10, then have a teenager barter the flag boss into selling it to you for $8 per flag.

h) Going for celebratory grilled cheese sandwiches after flag shopping. Oh, and impressing them with my knowledge of cool little restaurants.

i) Slurpees

j) Direction

k) Friends

l) Text messages

Anyway, the big event that I'm planning at school is tomorrow, so if you could all cross your fingers for me, it would be great. Thanks a million!

In the summer of 2010, the summer I finally bought a bike.

I'm pretty sure that it was in the summer of 2007 when I hatched a plan to buy a bike as I was starting the annual end of school pub crawl with some friends. They were considering freezing their eggs, if I remember correctly, and I was like "I think I want a bike".

Then I got busy in the summer of 2007, traveling to the West Coast, some weddings, and some trips back and forth to St. Ratford, and then well, it was back to school time, and buying a bike then would be bad because it would distract me.

Fast forward to 2008 and it was the same story, but I traveled to San Francisco and the East Coast. 2009: ditto, but it was France and the UK.

So the beginning of the summer has rolled around and I've been thinking about a bike yet again. Today I walked by a bike store, and started browsing. A shiny red bike caught my eye. Some dude asked if I needed help, and I explained that I wanted a bike that was good for riding around the city in the summer. Perhaps this red one would be suitable? Well, unfortunately the red bike was more suited towards the needs of a person with back problems, but he found me a better option and I decided that I would just get the bike and end the three year farce of me wanting a bike and never getting one.

Having chosen my bike, I then got to go accessory shopping. White helmet that matches bike, check. Lights, check. Bell hand-painted with cats, check. Lock, check. Stupid water bottle holder that I regret buying now 'cuz my water bottle doesn't fit properly in it, check.

As I rode my bike home, I loved how fast it went. It took me much longer to walk to that bike store, that's for sure. I realized the seat was way too high, but I was able to fix it myself at home. I get so proud of myself whenever I can fix any sort of mechanical problem on my own.

After fixing my seat, figuring out my lock, and accidentally managing to remove a chunk of Rilo's fur with the bike (curiosity might just kill that cat one day), I went on my first bike ride of the season. Again, I love how fast I can get places on my bike, and I'm already getting good at finding some safe routes. I even took my bike out on a busy street and discovered it wasn't as terrifying as I thought it would be.

Here's my bike:

And my awesome bell:

Anyway, now I get to spend my Saturday evening doing some cleaning, some laundry, writing exams, and marking. Tomorrow I'm planning another bike ride, some errands, some marking, and then sushi for dinner with some peeps. Yay for weekends!

p.s. 'cuz I bought my bike, the Los Campesinos! song "2007, the year that punk rock broke my heart" keeps going through my head but with the title I used for this post. I'm so weird.

And these memories lick my ear.

Last night's Weakerthans show was great, of course. Great venue, great company, great band, and a great set-list. I loved that they played both of their songs that are written from the point of view of a cat, and that they played the three connected songs (Manifest, Hospital Vespers, and Past Due) from their album"Reconstruction Site". They also played the title track of that album, which is my favourite song ever. And by ever, I mean ever.

A lot of their songs remind me of university days, so as I described before, a Weakerthans' show sends me down memory lane. They played a really old song from their first album called "Leash". Becca T and I used to always quote the first line of that song when we'd had a bad day:

"Had one of those days when you want to try heroin, drunk-driving, some sort of soft suicide."

It's a dark line, but is satisfying to say when you have one of those days. I had one of those afternoons actually.

But luckily, I did get to try a heroin of sorts today: I saw Sex and the City 2!

I am very thankful to a work pal for getting us early tickets to a show that started right after school. I was so glad to get out of that building ASAP, and seeing a silly chick flick with a close friend was a perfect antidote to the day.

My review of the movie is that it's silly and fun, and if you are a SATC fan, you'll have a good time. My friend is a huge SATC fan, and she was laughing like crazy during the movie, so I'm not sure if it was she or the movie that cracked me up more.

My favourite line of the movie is when Samantha says "where the fuck is Paula Abdul when you need him?" I didn't make a mistake; that's the line. If you want to understand it, see the movie. I'm going to start using it when I'm frustrated.

So in summary, the last 1.5 days brought me a great concert, a frustrating work afternoon (the morning was great though), but it was remedied by a silly movie. So all-in-all, not too shabby.

And it's Friday! Yay to short weeks! This weekend I have to buckle down and focus on catching up on marking, and writing my exams, and getting some planning done. Gah. But the end is in sight, and boy, am I ready for summer.

Happy weekend!

The sidewalks are watching me think about you.

Greeting from a hot busy Tuesday, that was more like a Monday. Toronto's under heat alert, and it's okay except for the fact that parts of my school aren't air-conditioned and feel like a sauna. Luckily though, the science wing is air-conditioned so it's not too bad at all. I don't publicize that to people in the hot parts though. I just agree that I'm melting.

I'm excited to go see the Weakerthans tomorrow night. I love when rock shows finally roll around. Seeing the Weakerthans is always like a cleansing ritual for me. They are my *favourite* band, and have been for almost ten years now. I've seen them so many times that I've lost count. Anyway, seeing them is always a centre-ing experience for me. It reminds me of where I've been, and sort of reminds of me of what makes me me. Does that make sense? All their songs have become snapshots of my life and remind me of experiences, people, and places, and just make me happy. The show will rejuvenate me to get through one last busy busy busy month of school and get me in a good mindframe to rock the summer.

That's tomorrow. Then on Thursday, I'm going with a friend from work to an early showing of Sex and the City 2. That will definitely give me the girlie time that I've been craving. I think we're going to have sushi before or after, so I'll get some girl talk in. Phew.

Then it will be the freakin' weekend again. I love short weeks. Just thought I'd post again before the week melts away.

Notes from a long weekend.

1) Whenever I'm at my parents' house, I become a sleep monster. If I do the littlest thing, I require a nap. I slept a lot this weekend. Sleeping in, going to be early, napping. I did it all. Maybe it was my subconscious trying to get sleep into the bank 'cuz I have a busy week coming up.

2) My bad eating habits and overall laziness need a huge kick in the ass. Any volunteers? I swear I'm buying a bike next weekend, and that will motivate me to get on a health kick. (I know, we've all heard about the bike and the health kick before.)

3) When I'm bored, I shop for clothes. I tend to get bored in Stratford, and my shopping choices there are limited. It's a quandry. I did pick up a second pair of "dress shorts" and two new cute (cheap) tops.

4) I need more girl talk in my life. Now that I've been BFF-less for what seems like an eternity, I am so even out of the habit of girl talk that I'm no longer good at it. I hung out with my friends Teresa and Sandee for hours on Saturday night, but I didn't cough up any gossip (about me) at all. I think I'm just going through a zipped-lip phase. Weird.

5) I just got back into the city about an hour ago, and I should go out and enjoy the weather, but I'm spending some time with Miss Rilo until I go abandon her 'cuz I have afternoon/evening plans. Poor dear.

Put-put-put your hands together.

Things I like these days:

1) The new New Pornographers' record "Together". I got it earlier this week 'cuz I was finally ready to move on from listening to "Forgiveness Rock Record" over and over. I love love hearing Neko on this new record. She's so awesome.

2) My new pair of "dress shorts". You know the shorts that women can wear that are like dress pants but go to the knees? I have a pair of them and I love them 'cuz they still look professional with the right top + shoes and are a great way to keep cool on a hot day at work such as today. Plus the pair I have are super comfy.

3) Today's weather. So awesome and summery. Please please please let it stick around for the long weekend.

4) The fact that it's a long weekend. And it's much needed by me.

5) The stretch of Yonge Street north of Eglinton. I had to run an errand up there this evening, and I spent some time wandering up that street window-shopping and stopping at my fave Starbucks for a tall skim Strawberries and Creme Frappucino.

6) The Starbucks App for my iPhone. It let me know I did not have to feel guilty for the above beverage because it's only 170 cals of deliciousness.

7) My friends at work. I really love those people.

8) The fact that since it is a long weekend, I can schedule a much needed trip to St. Ratford AND still have time left over on Monday to chill in Toronto.

Anyway, there's a lot to dig right now with this beautiful weather and the upcoming long weekend. Hope the rest of you have a fantastic long weekend!

A burst of moon, a blast of air.

So yah, I kind of sucked at writing my post clearly yesterday. The Jays' game was last night, and instead of going home in between work and the game, I stayed at work, marked, then headed out to Starbucks. I realized after I wrote my post that I was sketchy on the details, but IE kept crashing on my horrible work computer, so I left it without being able to edit.

Anyway, the game was fun. The Jays lost (8-3) but it was great being at a ball game. I haven't gone in forever. Being at the *Skydome* always brings back great memories of when I was a huge baseball fan when I was a kid. I named one of my cats after Joe Carter believe it or not. I'd like to get back into it, but I think all the other stuff I have going on in life makes it tricky to commit to being a baseball fan.

Here's my belated weekend update.

I spent Friday night sleeping off my cold. It's almost gone now, thankfully.

On Saturday, I went shopping for a wedding shower gift, and then hung out with Mathew in the evening. We tried a new sushi place in my neighbourhood, then watched the movie "Whip It". I liked the movie a lot. I also had a great time catching up with my buddy 'cuz I remember laughing a lot.

On Sunday, I booked myself a Zipcar (I love car-sharing) and headed out to Whitby for the shower. The shower was for my friend Flora, who is a good friend from university. Becca T and I used to visit Flora out in Whitby a lot, and driving out there brought back good memories. I really missed Becca while I was at the shower, but she'll be back soon, and living on my couch for a couple of weeks.

On Sunday evening, I went to see the movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". I chose it based on the fact it got very good reviews, and everyone's reading those books these days. Heck, I even gave my dad a copy of the book for his bday. Anyway, the movie was pretty interesting, but insanely dark and graphic! I was expecting something a long the lines of the Da Vinci Code, which is rather innocuous.

I had to cover my eyes many times which amused my movie company to no end. It's a little bit shocking that so many people are into such a dark disturbing story, but I can see why 'cuz it was intriguing. I dunno if I approve of my dad reading such material, but he did request the sequel to the first book for Fathers' Day and I'll prolly get it for him because then he can fill me in on the details.

Right now I'm almost halfway through another really busy work week. I'm really looking forward to the long weekend, but it will prove to be busy too: school play on Friday night, trip to St. Ratford on Saturday and Sunday, and then some Toronto-chilling time on Monday. It will fly as long weekends always do.

What to do?

Last night, I was offered a ticket to go see a Jays' game. Since I have been to one in ages, I decided to ignore the pile of work that I ignored this weekend, and say yes.

So I until 6:45 pm to decide what to do with my time.

Here are my options:

a) Sit here at school and work. Pros: Will get lots done. Cons: Will be at school.

b) Go to Starbucks and work. Pros: I'll be at Starbucks. Cons: Will have to drag my bag of work to the baseball game.

c) Abandon work at school and go to Starbucks and read David Sedaris book that I picked up yesterday. Pros: Lots of laughs. Cons: Pile of work not depleted.

Okay, as I wrote this out, I've come up with a happy compromise: work for a solid hour and a bit, then go to Starbuck with Sedaris book.

Win-win.

Saturday Funny.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Enjoy. Still sick. Must drag self out to purchase wedding shower gift. Motivation = Starbucks.

Whine and rebuttal.

I'm sick. It started in my throat and now it's turned into a lot congestion in my nose. I'm sleeping lots. Still working 'cuz I have too much to get done to stay home. Goal for next year = make self more dispensable.

Pray for Mojo.

The responses to last post made me laugh. Girls don't carry a lot of stuff 'cuz we're crazy or homeless but because we are smart and also like to leave our homes.

Who knows when it's gonna rain? That's why I always like to have my (purse-size) umbrella with me. In fact, I believe that carrying an umbrella with you is one way to ward off rain. I don't want to carry it in my hand 'cuz that's annoying, and could result in me leaving it somewhere and thus having to buy a new umbrella. So win for convenience, win for personal finances.

A hairbrush is necessary for me. My hair tangles at the slightest movement, and if I can't brush it a couple of times a day, it becomes a disaster. I leave the house for extended periods of time, hence I need to ensure that it doesn't become a tangled mess throughout the day because I like to look nice.

3 lipglosses? I like choice.

A book? Well, I take the subway, and it's nice to have something to read. And, one of my fave after-school relaxing activities is to hit up a Starbucks, have a cup of deliciousness, and read a couple chapters.

I commend those who carry more than one pair of shoes. Brilliant.

Also carrying food is smart. Why go out to eat when you can throw a piece of fruit or some almonds in your bag, and have a healthy snack and spend the money you saved on Starbucks?

I need a big wallet 'cuz I'm a person with a lot of store discount cards and I shop randomly and sporadically. Also, I'm popular, and need a spot for all of my gift cards, ha-ha.

Furthermore, I've developed a taste for a designer handbag here and there and I strongly believe if you are going to drop some cash on a bag, you should use it! And fill it with stuff!

Anyway, carrying stuff is all about being prepared for what life will throw your way!

I should go throw some cold medication and kleenexes into my purse now to be prepared for tomorrow. Now to blow my nose, take more drugs, and curl up in bed with a book. Rock and roll.

To be caught in the line of design without a proper subject.

Still rocking out to "Forgiveness Rock Record". I am going to get the new New Pornographers' record at some point, but I do best listening to one thing at a time.

It's May. I've counted that I've worked on 7 major extra-curricular projects/events this school year. Projects #s 6 and 7 and are underway right now. I'll be glad when they are done, but again, I'm super proud of myself for pulling off so much this year.

Last night I went out for ice cream at my fave place (Greg's) with a friend but they were out of my favourite flavour: roasted marshmallow. The way that I can describe the amazingness of this flavour is to say that I can taste the fire. Anyway, I guess it just means that I'll have to go back again. What a shame.

This morning I was on the subway with a friend and he was making fun of the fact that I bring two bags to work: a lunch bag and a purse. (And I wasn't even carrying the customary third bag of marking.) There was a lady sitting by us who commented "Men just don't understand! They don't carry anything and then they are asking you for stuff like your pliers and your measuring tape!" We just laughed with her and when she got off, we were like "ummm, does she carry a purse or a tool-box?"

I shared this story with the Group of 9 on facebook that got us to the random conversation of what is in your purse. I carry my wallet, a Tim Card (kept loose for easy access), three lip glosses, a small hair brush, my iPhone, my sunglasses, an umbrella, keys (work + home), my metropass (attached to my home keys), gum, and a book.

So random discussion time: guys how do you get away without carrying a bag? Or do you? Girls - what do you carry?

Texico bitches, there you be goin' again.

I had a calm weekend. Not a weekend of nothing, but a weekend with just enough nothingness to give me a little bit of time to rejuvenate.

Anyway, the highlight of my calm weekend was catching Broken Social Scene during their 4-record store tour today. Basically, they played short sets at four different stores in the city, and I was lucky enough to have a friend in the know score me a ticket last Friday by buying me a copy of their new record at the store.

The show was a really fun experience. We had to wait in line outside the store for a bit, and then they ushered us in to sit on the floor like little elementary school children while BSS played some instrumental music. They played a nice little five-song set and I was completely pumped to get home and tear open my new CD. (I haven't bought one of those in awhile. I never thought I'd become a downloader, but I have.)

Here's a pic from today's show that I took from my iPhone. Not the best, but it'll give you sort of the idea of the set-up.


I've been spending much of my Sunday evening listening to the new album, Forgiveness Rock Record, and I like pretty much every single song. Below is a performance of one of my faves "Texico Bitches". That song screams summer anthem if anything does.



Anyway, so it's Monday tomorrow. Work's going to be crazy 'til the end of the year, but on the bright side I'm going out for veggie food + ice cream tomorrow night so I'm excited for that. And, then a couple weeks 'til the long weekend, and then I have a Weakerthans show. I like stuff.

I wanna be held captive oh-oh-oh.

Life keeps chugging along. I'm holding on 'til June, folks.

Speaking of June, today I scored Sarah Harmer tickets at the Palais Royale during an artist pre-sale. For being the avid concert-goer that I am, I suck at the art of the pre-sale. This is why I'm not seeing Stars play the Mod Club tonight. Anyway, I knew there was a pre-sale through Sarah Harmer's page, and I clicked on the link, and I had to enter a password. There was nothing mentioned on the site about a password, so I guessed and it worked! I felt brilliant.

I've never been to a show at the Palais Royale before. It's an old ballroom on the waterfront, and I'm excited to go there. Way back in the late nineties, Sloan did a four-night stint there, and made a live album based on those shows. Becca T and I weren't into Sloan quite then, so we didn't go. That's seriously one the regrets of our friendship: that our Sloan addiction happened after 4 nights at the Palais Royale.

Anyway, I'm so excited to see Sarah at that venue. Last time that I saw her was at the Old Home Show in Charlottetown, PEI. That was two summers ago.

Also, look at that number of shows for 2010 on my sidebar. One was cancelled, yes, but I can't take it down. I'm thinking that this year might rival 2008 as my year of the show. (I went to 17 + SXSW that year.)

Really, I have nothing else to say, so I'm going to leave you with three concert-related videos that you can watch, or leave 'em, I don't mind.

a) Basement Apartment - Sarah Harmer: This is from her 2000 album You Were Here. This song still makes me so happy.



b) We Will Still Need A Song - Hawksley Workman: I'm still listening to an inordinate amount of Hawksley as a result of the show a couple weekends ago. This song, and its video, makes me so happy. I challenge you to watch and not smile.



c) My pal from Winnipeg sent me this link of Los Campesinos! playing a couple songs on a red couch. His comment: "sigh". I agree. That cancellation still stings.

Los Campesinos! - "The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future" from The Tripwire on Vimeo.

Two more workdays 'til weekend bliss blogarinos!

The Chuck Taylor Post (with Rilo Kitty bonus).

I had a great weekend with lots of socializing and good times, but tonight's post is about more important things: shoes!

Sometimes I can be a girly-girl, and I do have an extensive enough collection of pretty shoes, usually with sensible heels or wedges (I don't do stilettos). However, I think anyone who knows me knows that I'm happiest in a pair of jeans, a hoodie, and a pair of Chucks.

And, anyone who read my last post knows that I was in the market for a pair of dark purple Chucks, and that the government has given me the funds with which to obtain my new Chucks.

In fact, since that was the want from last post that most everyone commented on, I got inspired to do a post about my collection of Converse Chuck Taylors. With pictures! Of course, when I was arranging my shoes, Miss Rilo Kitty had to see what was going on, and has ended up in many of the shots. So bonus for you guys! Cute shoes and cute cat! Win-win!

Sadly, I do not have my very first pair of Chucks around here. I'm pretty sure they are still at my parents' house and were not disposed of because I probably said something along the lines of "nooooooo.... you can't throw those out!" and they are stored in the basement with the collection of my crap that's still with my poor parents.

I got them in grade eleven. They were low-top blue and green flannel plaid Chucks. The epitome of the 1990s right there in a shoe. Sadly, on maybe the second week I had them, a kid in my chemistry class spilled some acid on them and they got a few small holes in them from that tragic accident. I still wore them into the ground.

A few years ago, I saw the pair of Chucks below at the Brown's in the Bay at Yonge and Bloor, and I fell in love because of their emo-ness (note the broken hearts) and because they reminded me of my Chucks from high school. I bought them.

I added the pink laces to them myself. You can see they quite well-worn.


I don't remember the chronological order of my other pairs. This pair below are my favourites because they are red (second fave colour) and have birds (fave thing!) on them. I saw a picture of them in a Glamour magazine and actually ordered them from the Converse website and ended up paying a pretty penny for them (stupid customs). They're also from the Project Red line, so that's nice too.


Here are my two black pairs of Chucks. The low-tops I just bought in the fall, and as you can see, they've gotten a lot of wear already. They went to France with me over March Break and Becca T noticed that they were new to the collection, but really well worn. Everyone needs a pair of basic blacks.

The hi-tops were a house-warming gift from Becca T. She got them for $10 at outlet in the US and got a pair for herself too. I'll tell you why they were so cheap: there's something effing wrong with them! They pinch my feet and pinch hers too! That didn't stop me from wearing them all over NYC (twice). (Note to Miss Ash: Chucks are usually very very comfy. Those babies are defective.)

Below is Rilo posing with three pairs that I got while on various trips. (Yes, that is one of Rawbean's little homies on Rilo's scratching board in the background. She likes to play with it and places it on there. You should fill those things with catnip, my friend!)

The creme-coloured pair I got from an outlet in Buffalo while on a shopping trip with my pal Mathew. I wore them today.

The brown pair I got on my first trip to NYC at the Foot Locker in Times Square. They were on sale and reminded me of my first pair 'cuz they have holes (on purpose) in them through which you can see plaid.

The green pair I got when I was shopping at a Converse outlet with AlieMalie in Austin Texas. I bought to wear them on Earth Day that year, but then stupid Air Canada lost my luggage so I didn't even have them 'til the day after Earth Day. Oh well.


And now onto the newest member of the family: my "Italian Plum" low-tops! (I prefer low-tops as you can see. Easier to take on and off.) I had to go to three stores today to find them in low-tops and in my size, but I did!

And, in all of the searching, I found a store with an extensive collection of baby Chucks. I was in the market for a baby gift for a friend who is due in May (who usually doesn't read the blog, and if she's reading this post: SURPRISE!). Perfect and oh-so-cute!


Anyway, so there you go: Christielli's Chuck Taylor collection. Hope you enjoyed. And seriously, if you don't have a pair: GET SOME!