I don't need my old dreams.

I just realized that I'm going to be super busy until next Thursday with two concerts (Patrick Watson and then Hawksley Workman), birthday parties, a Kenya meeting, friends in from out of town, talent show auditions, and more.  So, I'd better get a random blog post out while I still can.

1) Hayden

Is anyone else here a Hayden fan?  He's a Canadian indie rocker best known for his mid-nineties song "Bad As They Seem" which is such a delightfully depressing song.  This song can make me a little bit teary on the best of days (and the past couple of days haven't been the best of days).



Anyway, even though many people forgot about him, he put out a few really good albums after the nineties.  His last album came out in 2009, so it's been awhile but a pleasant surprise when I got an email from his mailing list today announcing a new album in 2013 along with this gorgeous teaser video.



Even better, you can download the whole song for free at rollingstone.com!

So I've been having a Hayden evening.  I have a friend at work, an awesome lady in her late forties with a love of indie rock, who loves Hayden so I sent her all this info.  She wrote back saying she's been watching some of his recent videos from some shows in Europe on YouTube where he's got a bit of gray in his hair and less of a beard and looking better than ever.  I agree.



Anyway, the point of this is that it's nice to re-discover old favourites.

2) Students

Today was one of those days where my students really lifted my mood just by being themselves.  I spent my lunchtime with some of them who had to finish up an assignment, and we had a lovely chat about humans colonizing Mars.  There is a plan for that, did you know?  I did not.

3) Friends

I have awesome friends.  That is all.

4) Non-depressing book for a teenage girl

Student council does a Kris Kringle gift exchange yearly.  I picked the President's name, which I am super happy about, because I've known her for three years and I thought she'd be easy to buy for.  I'm knitting her mittens with a gorgeous blue-green wool, and she likes to read, so I thought I'd get her a book.

One of the teenagers going on the Kenya trip mentioned she really liked the book "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.  I thought this would make a great gift, but I decided to read it first before I bought it as a gift.  It's a great book, but a little bit depressing.  It's about a teenage girl who meets a boy through her cancer support group (he's a survivor) and they fall in love.  It's a nice love story with great writing, but not a happy ending.  It's the kind of book that I'd recommend, but not give as a gift.

I still want to give her a book, but all of the books that I read are depressing.  The book doesn't have to be YA, but something uplifting.  Any suggestions?  Jabba?  Claire?  Siobhan?  I'm looking at you!

5) Nice girls finish last.

That's what I'm feeling these days.  Seriously.  I feel like being a nice, kind person is often my downfall.  Blergh.  Inspirational messages regarding this are welcome.

6) Impromptu Vacation

So, I was planning on sticking around Toronto and Stratford for my Christmas break but as there have been some recent changes in my life, I realize that I need to escape.  I messaged my friend Heather, who is always up for a trip, to see if she'd like to go somewhere.  And she would.  But where??  I'm not sure.  These are my ideas:

a) Boston - I've been to most awesome and accessible US cities (Chicago, NYC, San Fran) and Heather was just in New Orleans so those are out.  Okay, I was even in Boston a couple summers ago.  But I feel I'd like more time with that city.  It might be cold though.

b) Montreal - I've really only been to Montreal for a weekend.  Shameful.

c) Quebec City - I just thought of this one!

d) Since a) through c) will be cold, there's always the possibility of a warm destination.  Maybe Mexico?  Who knows!

Anyway, I'll keep you updated on those plans, and suggestions are welcome.

Random post out, and I'll hopefully check in during my week of busyness.

All I Want is Nothing More.

One good thing about having friends in various time zones, is that when you need to talk to someone at 2:30 am, you can find someone.  And they can even point you to this cute little video with heart-breaking song, which makes you both happier and sadder at the same time.




Today was a rainy warm December day.  Record-breaking even.  Toronto hit 16 degrees Celsius.  The rain suited my mood.  I'm ready for 2012 to be over, even though the new year is a random construct.  There have been too many ups-and-downs in this calendar year for me.  I'm left feeling exhausted and worn.  My optimistic self, who chirps up even in the darkest of times, reminds me that I did some kick-ass things this year like run my first 10K race, go on some great trips, climb Grouse Mountain, connect with countless good people, see some really great rock shows, and it looks like I'll make my goal of reading 52 books in a calendar year (I'm at 49).

However, my realist self wonders if I'll be able to remember those peaks when the troughs have been so low.  But, I do know that I have the type of memory that tends to hold onto the good times, and lets go of the bad times, so maybe when this year gets far enough away from me, the lows will be forgotten.

Nice little story.

On Monday, the day of a test no less, a really nice kid in my class told me that someone had broken the windows of his family's car, and stole his backpack which contained his science notes and textbook.

This evening I got an email from a lady about a found student binder.  She must have gotten my email address from the course policies page.  She had found the binder in the alley behind her store in Kensington Market, and will hold onto it until the student can pick it up.  How nice of her to care about such a found object and to email me and hold onto the binder!  I can't wait to tell the kid about it tomorrow.

I like nice people.

I remember when I was a kid, maybe in the summer in between grades 6 and 7, my parents and I went on a road-trip to Chicago.  I bought a postcard for a friend, addressed it, and then lost it somewhere along the way.

After we got back my friend called me and thanked me for the postcard, which surprised the heck out of me.  Some lovely person must have found it, put a stamp on it, and mailed it for me.  Awesome.

Kindness rocks.  It's a fact.

No one's getting out without stadium love.

Toronto is such a great city for arts and culture.  Toronto also has a weird psyche.  It wants to be a "world class city" (whatever that means) and constantly wrings its collective hands about its world-classness.  However, maybe those were the good old days, because now I think most of the hand-wringing revolves around our joke of a mayor.  But hey - he might be removed from office on Monday by a judge for conflict of interest, so that could be interesting, hey?

However, my point is after my last four days of city fun, I'm left reflecting on how Toronto is a really great place if you are a fan of the arts, like I am.  There is so much great stuff to do all the time!

On Thursday, as you know, I saw Sloan, who are now a Toronto band (via Halifax) rock the Phoenix.  It's cool that they moved here, and their Toronto shows definitely have a bit of a hometown feel.

On Friday, I went to the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema to see the film "Ping Pong" which is about octogenarian ping pong players.  It was really fun, and funded in part by TVO (TV Ontario), so it had a Toronto connection as well.  I love that the city now has a beautifully restored cinema devoted to documentaries, as well as an awesome documentary film fest.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to film in Toronto, since we've got the neat-o Bell Lightbox (the headquarters of TIFF).  If you love film, Toronto is one of the best cities to live, hands down.

On Saturday, I went to see two Toronto bands, Metric and Stars, play the Air Canada Centre, our ginormous hockey arena.  It's pretty special to see two hometown bands make it to the point where they can nearly sell out an arena (and have been doing so across the country).  Stars live in Montreal, but they grew up here, and their affection for the city is always evident.  I was surprised that Torq didn't made any remarks about the mayor, as he did when my pal AlieMalie saw him in Missouri, but why ruin a nice night?

Stars put on an amazing opening set.  My only complaint was that it was way too short (only 45 minutes) so I really hope they'll do a proper headlining tour soon.

Metric have definitely evolved into an arena band.  Emily Haines looked amazing in a short sparkly gold skirt, gold top, lots of gold necklaces, dark blue eye shadown, blonde hair and a beige leather jacket from the 70s complete with tassels.  She's an amazing performer.  Their set was killer, with my favourites being the songs "Empty", "Gold Guns Girls" with amazing guitar work by Jimmy Shaw, and a crowd singalong of "Gimme Sympathy".

Toronto is a great city that breeds/houses awesome musicians.  And if you live here, you can see show after show after show that range from little bar shows, free outdoor shows, mid-sized theatre venue shows, and arena shows.  When it comes to my, okay let's face it, addiction to live music, I couldn't live anywhere else.  Well, maybe NYC.  But there would be fewer Canadian bands there!

Today I'm going to check out the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibit at the AGO.  Again, more access to great art.

Anyway, I've just had one of those weekends where I was left thinking "hey - Toronto is a great city for art!  I'm a lucky girl to live here!" and thought I'd write about it.  Seriously, I love this city.  I feel so lucky that I was able to make my life here.  I always dreamed of it as a kid, and I'm always amazed that I actually was able to escape the small town, and make it here.

That's the best thing that I ever heard.

Wow, #TR2012 was pretty amazing last night.  Sloan came on and played the album straight through with virtually no banter in between songs.  Even though I've been listening a lot to Twice Removed lately, I never truly realized how truly awesome the first four songs (Penpals, I Hate My Generation, People of the Sky, and Coax Me) are when played together.  It was a 1-2-3-4 punch of awesomeness.

Of course, the highlight for me was track #9 - Deeper Than Beauty, which is probably my favourite Sloan song, and one that I've heard live only twice.  Patrick and Jay left the stage for the song; it was just Chris on guitar, Andrew on drums, and their extra percussion player.  It was a great crowd sing-along. As my pal Eric observed "that song seems to be everyone else's favourite too!"

A great bonus was that Jennifer Pierce, of the Halifax band Jale (obscure East Coast indie rock reference FTW), was on hand to sing vocals on the final TR track, "I Can Feel It".  That song is incredibly sweet.

After the TR set, the band took a break and came back to play a second set.  I felt the second set was a great Sloan set with lots of songs from 2011's "The Double Cross", the big three singles from 1996's "One Chord to Another", "The Other Man", "Who Taught You to Live Like That", "Money City Maniacs", "I Am the Cancer", and "Underwhelmed" as the finale.

I went to this Sloan show with three people who had never seen Sloan live before, and they all had a great time.  I think everyone that I've ever brought to a Sloan show have quickly become converts to the experience.  I've lost count of how many times I've seen Sloan, but I look forward to their next tour.   Apparently they are going to make a new album in 2013, and they also want to re-release 1996's "One Chord to Another", so perhaps there will be another album tour next year!

You are surely special, I like you, I like you, a-la-la.

Last week was dull, but the weekend was fun.  After a twelve-hour day at work on Thursday (followed by drinks thankfully), we had an uneventful PD day on Friday.  I'd been fighting off a cold all week, and even though Friday was a beautiful day, I came home and crashed for awhile but managed to get some much-needed laundry done.  Friday wasn't much of a party.

HOWEVER, I think after that restful Friday, I was rejuvenated for the weekend.  On Saturday, I slept in, met up with my friend Flora for a sushi lunch, then did a little bit of shopping with her.  After that, I killed a 4-mile run at the gym, then came home, cleaned many of the things, put up my Christmas tree, and baked muffins.  After that, I went out for dinner to a Neapolitan pizza place that I'd been wanting to try.  The pizza was delicious, and I had a sparkling *red* wine which was really different and good.  After that, I ended up drinking wine and watching The Exorcist at home, which was supposed to happen on Halloween but didn't.  Well, we were gonna have champagne with The Exorcist on Halloween, but the champagne got consumed, but The Exorcist was not watched, but November's still spooky enough for horror movies, right?  Watching movies from the 70s is pretty trippy, because movies are so much different now.  They actually would take time to develop stuff.

After my epic Saturday, I had to wake up early this morning to go to a meeting for my Kenya trip.  I'm enjoying the process so far, and getting to know the students and staff I'll be traveling with.  I know this is going to be a great experience for me.

I came home to a couple slice of left-over pizza for lunch, then I headed off to the Eaton Centre to do some shopping.  It was pretty crazy busy, what with the Santa Claus Parade going on.  I think everyone migrated to the mall.  I managed to hit a few stores that I had some good email coupons for.  I bought a bunch of books at Indigo for 25% off.  Christmas shopping well under way.

Anyway, this week promises to more exciting.  I'm supposed to join a running club lead by my insanely-fit friend tomorrow, and then I have some really exiting shows coming up.

On Thursday, I'm going to see Sloan for their TR2012 tour, which is when they are playing the entirety of their 1994 album "Twice Removed".  This is one of my favourite albums EVER, and I'm SUPER EXCITED for this show.  In fact, my next post is going to be about that album and my favourite lines from TR songs.

Then, on Saturday, I'm seeing two of my very favourite bands, Metric & Stars, giving some stadium love at the ACC.  I've seen both of these bands play in little bars, and now it's ACC time.  Now, I'd rather still see them in little bars, but I'm super stoked to see them rock the ACC.   It's going to be awesome.

But first, I gotta get through the running club and a few days of work.

You gotta get up and try try try.

The highlight of the weekend was my 8K race in Grimsby, Ontario, about an hour outside of Toronto.  I went with my friend who is super fit (she's the phys ed teacher at my school, but currently on mat leave).  We didn't run together.  I joked that I'd eat her dust, but in reality, she's probably too fast to kick up dust.

Anyway, it was a friend's birthday party the night before, and the party was all the way in Mississauga.  I decided to go, and swore that I'd leave with the first car that was heading back to the city.  I did, but I had more wine that I should have on the eve of the race. 

However, I guess lots of wine, food, and fun on a race night isn't the worst thing because I did pretty well in the race.  I looked at my time at the 5K mark, and it was my fastest time of the fall.  I finished the race more than three minutes faster than my goal time and I was happy about that.  Yay!

Today I decided to celebrate by joining a friend at a spa for a massage.  It wasn't our usual spa (actually below our insanely high standards when it comes to pampering but whatevs... first world problems), but it really made my body feel better after yesterday's race.  Then I did some shopping at the Eaton Centre.  The Gap had a 30% off friends and family sale so I splurged and got bright red-orange cords (I wanted to join the coloured pants bandwagon), a navy blue cardigan, a cowl-necked striped waffle shirt, and a new super warm winter parka.

After the clothes-spree, I went to MAC for some new foundation.  I also have been running low on eyeshadow, and have felt like a new look would be good, so I got an eyeshadow makeover and I'm pretty excited to master my new look.  And I got new lipstick too.

I met up with my friends Fea and Paola for dinner at a cute diner in our neighbourhood.  I totally splurged on a crazy grilled cheese sandwich with mac 'n cheese and meatloaf in it.  It was insane.  I would have had to run 3 x 8K to make up for that.

Anyway, somehow it's Monday again.  I have a dull week coming up.  No concerts, nothing crazy.  Can you believe it?  Hope the rest of you have great weeks!

We'll collect the moments one by one, I guess that's how the future's done.

Winter is totally coming up on us, eh?

I left school today at 5:15 pm and it was getting dark already.  That's the price to pay for that extra hour we got on the weekend. 

I spent my evening baking and searching for new knitting patterns.  I guess that's where darkness and cold is taking my mind these days: to warmth and coziness.

Halloween

I'll admit it.  I usually suck at Halloween.  I leave my costume to the last minute, and end up being something lame (i.e. a witch) OR just borrowing something from the drama department at my school since I'm really good friends with the drama teacher.  Last year I was a giant crab.  It was all right but very noticeable since there was a giant crab in the previous year's school play.

The other irony of this suckage of Halloween is that in my role as a student council co-moderator, I help organize my school's Halloween activities, so people associate me with Halloween, and I feel kind of weird never pulling off an amazing costume.

Well, this year I finally pulled it all together.

As you guys all know, some of my favourite things in the world include science, cats, and jokes.  This summer I was introduced to an internet meme called Chemistry Cat, and unsurprisingly, I really like it.  Here's an example:

I have chemistry cat jokes posted all around my classroom, on powerpoints, on assignments, and on tests.  Chemistry Cat has become part of my classroom's culture.  This fall, I entertained the thought of being chemistry cat for Halloween.

Last Friday (last minute of course) I headed to Wal-Mart and picked up my necessary supplies: a cheap white hoodie and mittens, red ribbon, sewing supplies, and white face makeup.  I couldn't find white fur in their fabric department and really didn't want to/especially have time to go to a fabric store.  Luckily, I saw some fuzzy coloured pillows in their home decor department.  I wandered over hoping they'd have one in white.  They didn't, but I found a white fur rug.  Perfect.

The only thing I was missing was glasses.  I looked all over the mall but no luck.  However, there's a dollar store in my neighbourhood that advertising a good assortment of Halloween supplies.  I found $1.99 Nerd Specs.  Perfect.

I started assembling the costume on Monday night.  After 2.5 hours I was covered in fur, but I managed to attach fur to the hood of my hoodie, make ears using an old headband, and craft my bowtie.  On Tuesday night, I made my paws and my tail. 

Tuesday after school I stayed and decorated my classroom as close as possible to the backdrop in Chemistry Cat's cartoon.  I was disappointed that the chemical formulas made no sense, but copied them anyway.  I got all of the glassware I needed to mimic Chemistry Cat's desk and used food colouring to make my solutions.  I noticed that Chemistry Cat has some mice on his desk so I borrowed some of Rilo's from home.

This morning, I got to school early, got into costume and made it into my classroom without any of my students seeing me.  I covered the windows on the doors so they couldn't peek in.  Normally, I have my door open as soon as I get there, but I left it closed.  They knocked to get it, and I yelled "go away!" and had my student teacher let them in at the last minute so they could walk in and see this:

I think my project worked out pretty well, huh?  They LOVED it.  I had my picture taken about a million times today, even by random kids who didn't know me.  It was so much fun.

Earlier in the week, when we were planning to decorate our homeroom pumpkin, I asked my class what they wanted to do, and they said "Chemistry Cat!" not knowing at all that was what I was going to be.  Little did they know that I'd bring in my leftover supplies.

I finally did not fail at Halloween.  Good job me.  It was nerdy, but nerdy awesome.  :)

Postcards and daydreaming.

Holy heck I've had a really fun last four days.

On Thursday I went out with some fellow teacher ladies for dinner and drinks.  It was totally warm that evening, so we managed to find a place on the Danforth with an open patio and took advantage of the last gasp of patio weather.  Lots of laughs were had.

A couple of us continued on to the Danforth Music Hall for Dan Mangan with the Rural Alberta Advantage.  I'm a huge Dan Mangan fan and he didn't disappoint.  Since the show, I've had the song "So Much for Everyone" on constant repeat.  It was his closing song, and he sang it from a piano stool that he had hoisted above the crowd while we all harmonized along. 

On Friday, I spent my after school hours picking up parts for my Halloween costume.  If my plan works out (still not sure it will), I will post more on that later.  You could feel the warm weather turning that evening.  I got home in time to have a little nap, then I met up with my friend Jane to see The Wilderness of Manitoba at Trinity-St. Paul's. 

A band called Kite Hill opened for The Wilderness, and I really enjoyed them.  I got completely lost in their music, and it's rare that that happens with a band that you've had absolutely no exposure to.  I liked their set so much that I picked up their album "Rest & Run".   The Wilderness put on a great show too, so I also picked up their new album.  I was very pleased to get two albums, because I was just on the precipice of being in a music rut, but now that's solved.

I woke up on Saturday morning to a chilly, rainy fall day which was not really what I wanted considering that I had a 9:30 am start time for my 5K race at Sunnybrook Park.  However, I put on my new warm fall running threads, a rain jacket, and hopped on the bus.  I was glad to see other runners on the bus.  I suddenly didn't dread the run so much seeing that other people were in the same boat.  I actually really enjoyed the race.  Once I started running, I wasn't so cold, and the rain wasn't too bothersome, other than I had to do some puddle-jumping.  I felt that the race was a big improvement over the Night Race in September.  I ran straight for the vast majority of the race, and I finished strong.  I shaved almost a minute off my time, so I felt good about that. 

After I got home, I spent my Saturday afternoon napping.  It's pretty funny that the Kite Hill album I bought on Friday is called "Rest & Run" because that summed up my Saturday, but not in that order.  In the evening, I met up with friends for sushi and a movie.  We saw "Pitch Perfect" which was delightfully cheesy.  I really liked it.  If you need cinematic candy, go see it.

This morning I slept in, went for a warm dry indoor run at the gym (still gotta get ready for that damned 8K), had a lovely phone conversation with Claire, baked muffins, then had a nice rainy Sunday evening with pizza, movies, and great company.

So in summary, the last four days were lovely and action-packed.

Also, at some point today, the thought floated through my head that I'm happier now than I've been in a long, long time.  I feel that my trip to BC this summer was a great turn-around point for me.  I came back to Toronto feeling awesome and optimistic, and this feeling hasn't disappeared.  I feel like I'm totally me again, and I had lost that for awhile this year, and I'm glad to be back.

And now for yet another busy week.  Planning school Halloween festivities will keep me busy.  And what the what - Frankenstorm?  Eeep.

Happy Monday everyone.

Starts with them, ends with us.

The week's going well so far.  Especially since it's 60% done.  The end of this week/beginning of this weekend promise to be busy and incredibly fun for me.

Tomorrow night I'm going to see Dan Mangan with the Rural Alberta Advantage and the Danforth Music Hall, one of my favourite Toronto music venues.  I'm a huge Dan fan.  I think it's been almost a year since I've seen him, so I'm excited to be reunited with my bearded buddy. 



I've seen the Rural Alberta Advantage a couple of times before too.  I don't listen to their music, but I've enjoyed them each time I've caught them live.

On Friday, I'm going to yet another show: The Wilderness of Manitoba.  Wow, two province bands in two days!  That's pretty special, huh?  My friend Jane likes them, and I'm joining her, even though I know nary a song.  I'm sure I'll like them.  I've heard good things!

On Saturday morning, I'm running a 5K race that I'm totally unprepared for.  I was hoping this fall would be a great running season for me, and it's been all right, but I haven't gotten any faster.  I lost speed over the summer, and haven't been able to get it back.  I don't like running outdoors in cold weather, so perhaps the treadmill and I will have a nice winter together and I'll get my speed back.  I'm also signed up for an 8K race on November 10th, and I won't lie: I'm kind of dreading that distance, but I've committed myself and I don't break plans.  Although if my running buddy for that race bails on me, I dunno how committed I'll be...

After two concerts and a race, the rest of my weekend revolves around movie plans and should be relaxing.  Howevs, I still have to work on my Halloween costume as well.

Busy fun times.  Happy early weekend folks!

It was the opposite of Fire and Rain (you know, the song).

It's finally happened: I had a quiet weekend day!  (Yesterday.)

On Friday, I went to see my friend Jane's friend play at a small cafe.  It was a good time.  I rarely go see local musicians doing their thing.  I mean, everyone I go see has got a record, some buzz, a tour, and so forth.  It's great seeing someone play mainly for the love of playing music.  And it's fun to hear cover songs too!  I enjoyed myself a lot.

My plans for yesterday got moved to today, so instead I watched the Dan Mangan documentary "What Happens Next?" on the CBC while drinking delicious tea from my Vancouver mug.  After that I read and napped a bit, went for a run, tidied my apartment a bit, had a nice hot bath and finished my book, and then stayed up to watch SNL.

I also had an opportunity to take some time and just process.  Think.  Reflect.  You know, all that stuff that I often keep myself too busy to properly do.  However, I realized that I'm in a good place right now, and although things in my life haven't played out they way I wanted them to in say, oh, January of this year, I'm really glad they didn't.  I tend to be a know-it-all when it comes to my life's direction, and this year has constantly proved to me that I don't know it all, and that I most certainly cannot predict the future.  Thank goodness!  I think things have turned out way better for me with the universe in charge of things, as opposed to me and my preconceived notions, and I'm thankful for that.  I have to get better at living in the moment, and it's a work in progress, but it's progressing.

On Thursday, I had a fun impromptu after-school dinner & drinks, followed by some shopping.  My friends the Alans (there are two of them and they are absolutely hilarious and there for you in a pinch) had helped me with a project at school so I told them I'd take them for coffee.  However, we all were in agreement that something stronger might be in order, so we went to the new Bier Markt in Etobicoke.  I had delicioius Leffe beer from Belgium (may be my absolute favourite beer) and mussels and fries.  It reminded me of my day trip to Bruges in March.

After that, we headed to the mall to shop.  I ended up splurging on a pair of amazingly cute boots.  My calves aren't skinny, (I like to think they are muscular from running) so when the boot fits, I go for it.  In addition I got some fall running clothes (long pants, long-sleeved shirt) for my upcoming races.  I actually left my necklace, in the change room of Lululemon, but thankfully they held onto it, and one of the Alans picked it up for me.  Also, the Alans are awesome dudes to shop with.  They'll just sit on chairs outside the stores that I want to go to and happily play on their phones and then approve of my purchases when I come out.  Everyone need Alans, I tell you!

Here's a shot of my new boots, complete with Ms. Rilo enjoying a new place to sit inside the shoebox.

 

So, with that I'm going to go for a run in the cemetery and try out my new running threads.  Then I gotta go grocery shopping because I'm going to make chili for someone awesome who is not feeling so well.  Then it'll be a movie night!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Whatever and ever, amen.

I just finished a string of five consecutive very busy days and I collapsed onto my couch today after school.  I'd planned on going for a run this evening, but I was way too exhausted. 

I'm feeling the need to slow down a bit.  My friend Paul asked me to a couple of upcoming concerts, but I actually declined, can you believe it?  My fall concert schedule has hit its limit.   I need some evenings to chill, read, clean, run, etc.  I hate saying no to anything but sometimes I have to.

Anyway, the Ben Folds Five reunion tour from Monday was amazing!  They played so many Ben Folds Five songs from the 90s, plus a few (but not too many) new tunes, and just one lone solo Ben Folds song.  It brought me back to being 17/18/19 that was for sure.  I listened to so much BF5 back then and it's crazy how music can bring you back in time.

Also, Doc Martens are back, hey?  I even see kids at school wearing them sometimes.  I've brought out my old black Doc boots, which I'm pretty sure are from the days when I was 18/19.  I'm glad I hung onto them!  I wore them to BF5, and I'm pretty sure I probably wore my Docs when I saw BF5 play the same venue back in 1999.  Deja vu AND deju shoe.  (Okay that was bad!  I'm sorry!)

I went on a tea shopping spree last week.  David's Tea is amazing.  I splurged on three 100 g tins of loose leaf tea: birthday cake, red velvet cake, and organic stormy night.  They are all extremely delicious.  My favourite may be the organic stormy night.  It takes like a delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie in tea form.  It's amazing. 

I'm also loving this dress that I bought at anthropologie back in September.  It's made out of wool, and it's getting cool enough to wear it.  :)  I wish I had the cute shoes that this model has.

I'm feeling the need to go on a mini-shopping spree.  I need some fall running clothes for my upcoming races (neither of which I'm remotely ready for), and some new comfy shoes for work.  Maybe I'll go tomorrow.  :)

And tomorrow's Thursday, right?  These weeks fly by.  I've got a low key weekend so far, which is great.  I need it so I'm not passing out midweek like I did today.

It's a strange paradise.

Today I had an excellent Skype conversation with my dear friend Becca T in Paris.  We tried to Skype earlier in the week but we had a time difference fail.  I thought she was five hours ahead of Toronto time, but in reality it's a six hour time difference, so she had to go to bed before I made it home for the call.  Thankfully we could reschedule today.

This call was especially excellent because I couldn't help but remember that when I visited Becca T last Paris in March, both of us were struggling with things in our lives.  However, we both had tonnes of great news to share with each other this time, and it was really nice.  No need to drink wine along to Kanye West's "Runaway" these days. 

The rest of my weekend was really fun too with parties, concerts (Beach House - awesome), and time for many friends.  I even had time for a two hour nap today.   Yay!

I'm really excited for tomorrow because I'm seeing Ben Folds Five for the first time since 1999.  They were my favourite band in the world at that time, and they broke up after that tour.  However, they've reunited and I'm so excited to see them again, and even at the same venue.  (The venue's name has changed though.  The Warehouse is now the Kool Haus.  Lame, eh?)  I'm so excited and spent some time thinking about what classic BF5 songs I'd like to hear tomorrow.

I know they'll play this one.  But with the original swears.



Happy Monday everyone!

Sing, cry, or bang your head against the wall.

I wanted to write about how I've been feeling an overwhelming amount of positivity in my life lately.

BUT... I've been on the phone with a telecommunications company for over an hour and a half because I noticed that they combined my account with someone else's account.  It's really messed up.  AND I hadn't used my Kobo in awhile and it won't charge up.  Grrrr....

Really though, these little things are not important and I have to get back to the overwhelming positivity that's in my life right now.

As my friend Nigel said to me as we were enjoying the outdoors at the leadership camp I was at on Wed/Thurs/Fri of last week: "in life, you have choices... either sing, cry, or bang your head against the wall."  I think I'll sing.  :)

I had a great time at this camp I went to.  The kids were fabulous.  Work-wise, it was a super-relaxing couple of days, except for having to stay up until 2:30 am at night ensuring no one sneaked out of their rooms.  I had some good times with great colleagues, like during one afternoon when we sat on a porch overlooking a valley with gorgeous fall foliage and we all gasped because there was a SLIGHT breeze.  Oh the humanity.  Another time, I told my friend Nigel that I'd seen the kids mixing chocolate milk with orange/passionfruit juice and we dared each other to do it.  It was rather nasty.

I also had a really nice long weekend.  Well, when I got home from camp on Friday night, I was in bed before ten pm because I was exhausted.  On Saturday, I took the train to Stratford for Thanksgiving.  I had a nice dinner out with my pal Vern, and spent some nice time with my parents on Sunday, including winning two out of three cribbage matches with my dad.  On Monday, I came back to Toronto for a nice fall run in the cemetery, and then I went to see Frankenweenie which was a great movie!  I highly recommend it, especially if you are a big Tim Burton fan.  It was goth-tastic.

I'm sitting here STILL ON HOLD with the telecommunications company.  Going on two hours. 

I've got some fun stuff coming up this weekend. A party, a baptism, a concert, and my first Kenya meeting.  I'm looking forward to it all.

And yay for short weeks!

All I wanna get is a little bit closer.

I had a super fun weekend even though I skipped out on this year's edition of Nuit Blanche.  I'm okay with it, there's always next year.

Anyway, since it's late and I wanna read a bit more of JK Rowling's A Casual Vacancy before I go to bed, I'll turn my weekend into point form.

- On Friday night, I went out for dinner at one of my fave restaurants in the city: The Ace.  (Hey wigsf - you should go there and try the fried chicken, it's delicious.  I'm curious to find out what a fried chicken connoisseur like you would think.)  It was a fun time.  I had some really yummy Belgian Bourbon ice cream, which was way more chocolatey than bourbony.  Also, I think we had plans to go light on the wine, but then it turned out we should have bought a bottle.  Wine by the glass gets pricey, yo!

- On Saturday, I procrastinated, read, ran, then FINALLY started my spring cleaning.  (Don't point out it's fall, please don't.) I managed to get rid of two huge bags of clothing, yet I still am short on closet/drawer space.  Still, I feel like I got a lot accomplished.  During my next spring cleaning bout, I shall attack the bookshelf.

- Today I continued with the spring cleaning, then got a mani-pedi which was great.  I got it a colour called Bad Romance - it's black with purple sparkles.  Then I went to another fave restaurant, Tabule, for my dear work spouse's birthday.  It was a good time, but a short time, as three of my pals have young kids and had to take off.  Still, it's great to have a delicious meal with a bunch of great friends.

- I've also listened the crap out of this song this weekend.  LOVE IT.



- I'm also really into the new Dragonette album Bodyparts.  The above song and this album make for a fun fall soundtrack.

Anyway, that was my weekend.  From Wednesday to Friday, I'm going to be out of town.  I was invited to chaperone the school's leadership camp at an outdoor education centre so I figured why not?  The kids are good and most of the activities are planned by the staff so I'm hoping I can sit beneath lovely fall foliage and read.  (I'm sure it won't be the relaxing time I have pictured in my head.)  On the bright side, it gives me an excuse to wear my $100 lululemon camping pants that I bought for my one and only ever camping trip in the summer of 2010.  I knew they'd pay off.

Oh, and lastly, I contributed to my good friend Claire's I Love Your Blog series where she interviewed me about blogging!  Check it out!

Happy Monday folks!

Maybe come September I will feel brand new.

I love when you randomly find an awesome thing on the internet.

I just found this.  Kathleen Edwards.  Take Away Show.  In a Paris soccer field.  Love.



I have to say that I'm really feeling her song Sidecar these days.

Also, I'm now craving Paris like anything.  As I do most days.

Speak plain he said.

I liked this Monday, even though it was a Monday.

School was fine.  Classes were good.  Had a long student council meeting, but that's always OK 'cuz I like spending time with those kids. 

After that I dragged myself to the gym and put in a pretty decent run.  I have a 5K race coming up at the end of October and then an 8K at the beginning of November.  I do not feel ready for either, but feel like I'll get there if I keep on running.

After I got home, I turned my computer to the MuchMusic stream of the 2012 Polaris Prize.  The Polaris Prize is the Canadian version of the UK's Mercury Prize, and I enjoy it because it is an awesome celebration of great Canadian albums. 

As I started watching the stream, I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich (best dinner ever always) and planned some espionage on the phone with a friend/former colleague as I made my dinner.  That's talent.

I watched the duration of the award show and I really enjoyed the performances.  My faves were Cold Specks, Kathleen Edwards, and Feist (of course).  I also enjoyed checking out Grimes, because a few friends have been talking about her, and Cadence Weapon was pretty good too.  

I was super happy that Feist won the prize!  As you all know, her album Metals is one of my favourites, and I found that it has wound itself through my life in the past year, so I'm really happy that it won.  

It's funny, when I started listening to Metals, I think my life was more like the first track "The Bad in Each Other" and now things have moved on to the final track "Get It Wrong, Get It Right".

Yay Feist.

When they love you, and they will, tell them all they'll love in my shadow.

Right now I'm addicted to the Japandroids' album Celebration Rock.  It's on the Polaris Prize short list, and I feel that I'm probably late to the party, but I'm glad I'm there.  This album is eight gritty rock songs, and I love it.  It reminds me of stuff I listened to eons ago.... perhaps Attack in Black or The Get-Up Kids or something.  I'm trying to put my finger on it.



I like this video of their because it was filmed at one of my favourite Toronto rock venues: Lee's Palace.  In fact, I'm going there tomorrow night to check out Rich Aucoin, who blew me away this summer at the Wolfe Island Musical Festival.  It's a late show (he comes on at 11 pm), but oh well. QUIZZES FOR ALL on Friday, I say!  :)



I think I posted the above music video before but I think a repeat is OK because it is so freaking good.

I went to the spa today after school.  I am so relaxed right now.

I have so many excellent concerts coming up this fall too.  Fall is the best season for sweater-wearing and concert-going.

And it's the weekend in two more days.  Mine will be fun I know it.  Hope yours is too.

Oh Monday, Monday I'm done with you.

One of this things that I did this weekend that I didn't mention last post was to change up my hair colour a bit.  I felt that my hair got washed out this summer by the sun, and was looking a bit mousey brown.  So, I bought a dark brown hair dye (one that I've used before), and used it on Saturday morning and was quite happy with the results.

Over the summer, I forgot how any sort of change in my appearance becomes a talking point for students.  And not just those in my class... I got random comments from kids in the hall, former graduates back to visit, student council members, and staff members too.  I rather felt exhausted about hearing about my hair by the end of the day. 

Here are some of the comments that made me laugh a bit.

"Miss!  You dyed your hair!  Is that a physical change, or a chemical change?  Or maybe a bit of both?"

"Holy shhhh... You dyed your hair this weekend!"  (I appreciated the self-censoring here.)

"Miss, what colour was your hair before?  I liked it then.  It was nice." (Said by the sweetest kid ever.  I kind of wanted to un-dye it.)

Interestingly, I think the boys noticed way before the girls. 

Also, this makes me want to get my nose pierced or maybe a tattoo just for fun.  I wonder what the reaction would be like for those.

Hold That Thought.

I had a really great weekend.  It included things like:

- a marathon Friday night BBQ with the work clique
- two lovely runs through the cemetery on cool sunny fall mornings
- lots of social plans: afternoon parties, dinners, brunches, drinks, etc.
- lots of enjoyable conversation
- making sure I was awake by 10 am on Saturday to buy tickets to Toronto date for the Sloan Twice Removed 2012 tour

Suffice it to say, I'm pretty wiped from the weekend, as per usual.  I could have totally used another weekend day to read, watch a bit of TV, knit, and figure out a new running playlist for the fall.  I think "Summer Running 2012" might have to be retired.

Hope you all have great weeks!  I'll leave you with a song from the new Ben Folds Five album that I particularly love.  I'm so glad that the first album in 13 years from BF5 has not disappointed me.

Calling on the backlines.

Lots of nice little things happening in the past few days.

- Lots of nice emails from various sources.  Most special = an email from last year's student council president wishing me a good first meeting of the school year.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: the kids are all right.  Thoughtfulness rocks.

- Skype dates with Becca T and Claire.

- Time to read.  I finished the Great Gatsby!  I no longer have that huge literary hole (but I do have many others).  I liked it as I do any well-written tragic tale.  Now I'm reading a dark thriller by Gillian Flynn called Dark Places.  She wrote the current bestseller Gone Girl which I wish everyone would read so I'd have people to talk to about it.

- An advanced download of Ben Folds Five's first album in thirteen years: The Sound of the Life of the Mind.  I'm on my third listen and I really like it.  There are songs that break my heart with beauty and bittersweet lyrics.  It's out on September 18th for those of the rest of you.  (I'm special because I pledged this album on Pledge Music and will get an autographed vinyl copy of it soon.)

- Starbucks has brought back my fall favourite: the salted caramel mocha frappucino.  Delicious!

- Today I was treated to a small Stars concert at the historic Masonic Temple Concert Hall (which is now an MTV Canada studio) thanks to my friend Karen.  She got us on the guest list.  I knew about the concert.  My pal Mathew, who was there too, told me about it, but for some reason I didn't register that I should go.  Anyway, I'm glad that Karen got us in because I got to see Stars play three songs from The North (Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Get Love, Backlines, and The North).  It was really great and we were so close.  Man, I love this band!

Anyway, I've got lots of good stuff coming up too.  Remember how I thought this was going to be a quiet weekend?  Nope.  I've got plans every day (two on Saturday).  Maybe a bit of quite next weekend?

I am so much better than I used to be.

Right now I'm catching up on emails, etc. after passing out on my couch for two hours.  I have had an insanely fun few days, and I think the fun kicked my ass a bit.  Actually, my first week back at work pre-kicked my ass, and all of the fun just added to me being completely shattered.

On Thursday night, I went for dinner and a JKS show with my friend Paul.  He was running a bit late, and as I was waiting for him on the SE corner of Bathurst and Bloor, my friend R (super fit phys ed teacher) ran into me (she was mid-run), and then I chatted with a group of three former students.  I guess that's the intersection to be if you want to see people!

The concert was awesome.  I saw JKS (lead singer of my favourite band ever, the Weakerthans) back in March when he played with a full band.  This time, it was just him and a back-up guitarist.  It was a great show!  He played lots of new stuff from his solo album, and many Weakerthans old favourites. I can't believe that some of these songs have been with me for so many years.  I remember discovering them back in university.  How times flies.  But lots of things stay the same: like hearing the songs "Pamphleteer" or "Aside" live is always great.

For his finale, he stood on a stool and sang "Virtute the Cat Explains her Departure" out into the crowd.  That song breaks my heart because it's about a lost cat, and well, if Rilo ever got lost I would be devastated.

On Friday, Mathew and I did go for Thai at a hole-in-the-wall place he loves and it was excellent.  We then watched the Hunger Games, which was good, but not as good as the book, as is the case with movies.

On Saturday, Heather and Jolene came down for the Night Race, and we had a great morning/afternoon of wandering around the city.  I splurged on a couple of new books, and got a great birthday present for my work spouse (a pin based on elements!).

The race was fun.  The most hilarious part was this year's race shirts were NEON YELLOW and we decided to wear the ugly things.  The race itself went well.  I was slow, but at least I didn't score a personal worst.  The lights we had to wear on our head had a battery life of 17 hours, so our joke was as long as we beat that time, we were good.

On the bus ride home from the race, we heard girls in their twenties planning on going out after the race.  We were tired, but I insisted that we go to a pub in our race gear and have beers and nachos so that we could feel young too.

Heather spent the night, so today we did some shopping and lunch, and then caught a movie.  I'd wanted to see the documentary "The Queen of Versailles" during HotDocs in May, but it sold out.  It's now playing at the Varsity.  It was quite good.   It's about a really rich couple who started building the largest single-family dwelling in the US, but then got hit by the economic crisis.  It's a great conversation movie, that's for sure.



After that, Heather caught her train, and I went home and baked some treats for tomorrow's student council meeting.  After that I passed out on my couch.

And soon it's Monday.

Hope it treats you all well.

Good luck, bad luck, survival. Sleep is my friend and my rival.

I thought that I'd be slowing down in September.  It's a loaded statement for a teacher to use the words "slow down" and "September" in the same sentence, but you all remember the summer I had, right?  There was no slowing down there!

Tomorrow night, I'm going to see my dear John K Samson (lead singer of the Weakerthans) play somewhere on Bathurst.

Friday I have plans with my dear friend Mathew.  We're playing it by ear, but I'm hoping our ears will bring us to Thai food.

On Saturday, my friends Heather and Jolene (both from high school) are invading my place and we're doing the Energizer Night Race (5K).  That's the night-time race I did last year where I had to wear a light on my head.  It was super fun so we're doing it again.  I'm so out of good running shape (too much eating and drinking this summer and not enough exercise despite the Grouse Grind) but I figure this will set a good time to obliterate when I do another 5K at the end of October.

On Sunday, I might get a chance to relax before another week.  Next week/weekend seem quiet, and maybe it'll stay that way.  I gotta get back to my knitting, reading, and watching of Breaking Bad.

Hope you're all enjoying September too!

Well the only way I see this happening is in an extended ride north.

Made it through the first day.  The first day is always a breeze.  Well, not really this year, in that the AC in the school was COMPLETELY down (as opposed to a regular day when it's half down), and we were all melting.  I wore pants.  Big mistake.  My mom told me a cold front is coming soon.  I asked if it would be entering my school, because that's what that building needs.  It retains heat like a mofo.

Anyway, it's too soon to tell if my classes are good.  I am optimistic they will be.  I've got all grade tens this semester.  I like grade tens.  They know what's the what, but are still humble and do their homework. 


Now for some randomness.

I enjoy musicians who maintain really great mailing lists.  Today I got an email from Hawksley Workman announcing his fall tour and it was beautifully written.  Tonight, I got an email from Stars about their new album, The North, which came out today, and same thing. 

I went on a mission to find a bag that will hold ALL of my stuff.  I am tired of carrying a gym bag, a lunch bag and a purse and sometimes more to work.  And I'm too old for a backpack.  I found a tote that will carry it all, I hope.  Tomorrow is its test.

I baked muffins for the science/math department at school as a treat for tomorrow since we have a morning meeting.  I haven't baked in years.  I don't know what came over me.

ANYWAY,  the point of this blog post was to let you know I survived day #1.

Inspiration.

As you all may, or may not, be aware, it's that time of year again: back to school.  I gather that if you're a person in the rest of the world, without any school-aged children, you might not know that the school year is approaching.  However, does anyone really forget the renewal that comes with a new September?

I have to say that I'm looking forward to the new school year.  After a summer of travel and loads of fun, I'm feeling ready to go back into the classroom.  On top of my optimism for a great new school year, the past couple of days have brought me some extra inspiration.

First of all, a colleague/friend lent me a book called "What Teachers Make" by the poet/teacher Taylor Mali.  I purposely saved it to read at the end of the summer to give me some inspiration before a new school year.  Mali is best know for the poem below:



I really enjoyed the book.  Currently, Ontario's teachers are in the process of negotiating a new contract with the government, and with that comes anti-teacher comments following newpaper articles online.  I've learned to stop reading comments following any newspaper story about teachers, however I made the mistake lately of skimming some, and I read a comment that described teachers as "under-worked, over-paid, and over-benefitted".  GROSS.  Luckily for me, Mali's book is a wonderful antidote to this attitude.  It was a great reminder of how wonderful and important my job, and provided me with great inspiration before the new year.

Also, I have to comment that we are lucky in Canada: our teachers are fairly compensated.  Often people complain teachers make too much money.  One of the hallmarks of a good education system is that teachers are well-compensated and respected (eg Finland - the best in the world).  If teachers aren't, you won't attract the best people to the profession, and students will suffer.  You want great teachers?  Pay them accordingly.  Don't think it's a hard job?  Come shadow me.  I'll put you in front of my *best* class, and see how you fare, then ask you to teach one of my more challenging classes. Good luck.

Anyway, I think reasonable people will agree with me there.

I've spent the past two days at school working with 40 student leaders to organize and run an orientation day for our incoming grade nines.  (This is just one of the many activities that I donate my own time to organize because I see the inherent value in it to students.)  This has been another source of inspiration for me.  It was an exhausting task organizing the day, but we got it done, and today the leaders did a fabulous job of running the day.  Cue to me standing around, doing nothing for most of it.  In education, you know things are going well when the teacher has nothing to do.  After the grade nines left, I gave my best "you guys are amazing" speech to the leaders, and it felt good that the school year hasn't even started, but I've already had an opportunity to make students feel great about themselves.

One of my favourite moments was when a spunky grade nine tried to grab a basketball out of one of the leader's hands, and the leader said patiently "just hold on, you'll get to play basketball outside, okay?" and it really put the niner in his place (but very kindly).  Afterwards, I told the leader that I thought the way he handled the situation was awesome, and you could see him just shine when I gave him praise.  I'm so lucky to have this job.

Finally, I'm inspired to create a "Science Wall of Fun" in my classroom this year.  I've been an itinerant teacher for years: jumping from this classroom to that one.  This means that I'm never in one place long enough to decorate it, but this will change this year: I'm in one place for all of my classes.

The idea for the Science Wall of Fun, came from this quote that I came across on Facebook the other day.  It made me really excited to share the amazing-ness of science with my students!

I've come across many nerdy science jokes on Facebook, and I spent about a hour last night printing out my favourites at home (so they'd be in colour).  I can't wait to post them.  I think this one is in the lead for my favourite!

So those are the three things that have left me inspired for a new school year.  Tomorrow, I'm taking the train to Stratford, and my pal Vern is going to be kind enough to drive Ms. Rilo and I back to Toronto.  I'm looking forward to having my buddy back!

Hope you all have great long weekends!

The tricky part is to come back home.

The above line is from the song "Sure Can Start" by Two Hours Traffic.  It always goes through my head when I return from a trip, especially one that precedes getting back into the swing of things at work (I go in tomorrow for some planning).  Anyway, TO's been OK so far.  I've been trying to get back to Ontario time, visited my buddy down the street, and got my hair cut.  However, there have been a couple moments that have left me feeling yucky.  I guess that's just post-trip hangover.

Anyway, as a change of pace, I'm going to post pictures (!) instead of merely writing.  Here are some pictures from the last part of my post.  I'll go back in time and post some earlier photos another time.

Rawbean told me that I had to find this market on the Island that had goats on the roof.  Luckily, it was on route to Tofino.  We were driving and I asked Alison "what's the name of the market with the goats on the roof?" Before she could answer, the sign did the job.  (I love that it's called what it is.)

And this is why we came!  Actually, the market is pretty neat too.  I got pressies for my parents there!

After the market, we stopped at Cathedral Grove, which is a nice little trail where you can see some of the biggest/oldest trees in Canada.

We spent the night in Ucluelet, which is described by my guidebook as "Tofino's ugly stepsister".  I completely disagree.  It had a couple nice small beaches, and we had drinks on a boat.  The next day, we walked around part of the Wild Pacific Trail that brought us to a lighthouse.  Here's a picture of the view:

Alison walking the trail:

The lighthouse:

After that, we drove to Long Beach which is in between Ucluelet and Tofino.  It's a very long beach.  :)  It was pretty windy that day, so I had to walk down the beach in a hoodie.

 It was a good day for para-surfing... I think that's what this is called.

My feet in the Pacific.  (Note the nice pedicure I got in Vancouver... and my annual summer Birkenstock foot tan.)

After Long Beach, we drove into Tofino to see the town.  It was your average beach town.  We stayed long enough to visit an art gallery, take a picture of the sign, and have a quick dinner.

The next day, I drove to Victoria, and met up with Jabba for dinner.  On Saturday, I spent a full day in Victoria with Jabba.  Yay!  We did high tea (with mimosas!) at the Empress.

Here's a picture of the BC legislature during the day...

... and at night.  I love how it's lit up!

Well, that's a brief wrap-up of my trip with photos. 

ps If you are a Stars fan, you can stream the new album here!  I love it!!!

I came here to bring the noise to the island girls and the harbour boys.

I have to say that I am enjoying island life a lot.

Since I've been here, I've been having a great time.  I stayed out late on my first night catching up with my friend Alison.  Yesterday, she took me to a really nice waterfall where you can walk out through shallow water over a rocky surface and actually go sit near the falls.

I decided not to bring my camera, as I was worried about slipping and falling (I'm clumsy).  However, I made it all the way to the falls no problem, and almost all of the way back.  Alison said "watch out for the hole!" and I said "I see it!"  However, the misfortune was that we were talking about different holes, and in I went.  I stubbed all of the toes of my left foot on the rocky surface.  Ouch!  See, good thing I did not bring my camera!

After that, we ended up driving to a beach with a funny name - Goose Spit Beach.  It was really nice.  Here's picture of my rental car on the beach.  Can I tell you that I am in NO WAY a car person, but I love this little guy?  It's so fun to drive!  Tight parking spots are no problem!  If a jerk parks behind you and kind of blocks you in, no worries, you can three-point turn yourself outta there!  (This happened at the waterfall.)  Driving with the top down is SO MUCH FUN.  Alison and I joke about missing the car when we spend time away from the car.

After the beach, we had a nice dinner at a pub by the Marina in Comox to close out a nice day.

This morning I went for a run along the River Walk in Courtenay.  Alison, who is not a runner, was game enough to join me.  We did a good 5K run/walk, and came to the kayak rental place near the end of our route.  We were already kind of sweaty.  Why not hop into a kayak?  We rented two singles, and off on the water we went for almost two hours.

I'd never kayaked before, so I was apprehensive, but I had tonnes of fun!  The best was that we saw lots of seals in one section of the river.  At one point we saw five at once, including a cute little pup.  It was awesome!  Definitely a trip highlight for me!  Unfortch, I decided it was best not to bring my camera (see above clumsiness), but Alison did get pictures of me in a kayak, and hopefully some seal heads.

After a snack, and a shower, we met up again to go on a road trip.  (The Mini will get you anywhere on a thimbleful of gas, I swear.)  After some debate, we decided to take the Oceanside highway to Campbell River, which is north of Courtenay.  The southbound part of that highway is supposed to be prettier, but we'll be heading that way tomorrow, so north we went.

The way up was pretty.  We passed farmland, wineries, and ocean resorts.  A few kilometres outside of Campbell River is a little park with all kinds of wood carvings.  They always change because they get purchased or moved around town.  Here I am with my favourite! 

After that, we went on a mad hunt for a fish and chip place that my Van Island travel book recommended.  The GPS did a horrible job of finding it, but after some back and forth driving, I figured out where it was.  When I finally spotted it, I yelled "Dick's!  There's Dick's!  We found Dick's!"  (Obviously the place was called Dick's Fish and Chips.) I didn't mean to sound inappropriate but it was pretty hilarious, and I shocked and appalled Alison just a little bit.  We made jokes about it all evening.

After some very delicious fried food (good thing we got all of that exercise in the morning), we took a walk along the harbourfront.  We even saw some giant cruise ships.  We ended the even with giant ice cream from a store on the pier.  It was excellent.  Campbell River was a fun place!

Tomorrow, we're taking the Mini for a roadtrip to Tofino!  There are a lot of fun places to stop along the way and it will be great.  I hope the weather will be nice so we can cruise with the top down.  Seriously, I've never loved a car so much.  Even though it's so small my suitcase will not fit in the trunk.  Whatevs.  What it lacks in trunk space it makes up for in awesomeness.

Vancouver!

Here I sit in my homey B&B in Courtenay, BC after spending a lovely evening catching up with my dear friend Alison, who was one of my besties/roommates from university.  After a ferry debacle (more on that another time), my rental Mini Cooper convertible (free upgrade!) and I made it to Vancouver Island.

However, I should catch you up on my adventures in Vancouver, in point form only since it's really late at night, but the time to write might escape me later, so I'll do it now.  I'll post pictures later Jabba, I swear!!!  (I know, I'm the worst with pictures, but I always want to write things down before I forget.)

Itemized List of Vancouver Fun!

1) Taking a train DIRECTLY from the airport to downtown is one of my favourite things ever.  Take note Toronto.  You should have one of those.

2) My first meal was at Japadog. Take note Toronto.  You should have one of those.

3) I rented a bike and biked along the seawall in Stanley Park and across some awesome downtown bike lanes.  Take note Toronto.  You should have more of these.

4) I braved the Capilano Suspension Bridge.  Last time I was in Vancouver, Becca T refused to do it, so I figured I'd do it.  It was slightly terrifying, and heights usually don't make me very nervous. 

5) I ate sushi.

6) I met up with Rawbean for drinks - I had Watermelon Beer.  It was almost as great as the company.

7) I slept in and got a pedicure.

8) I met up with my pal Wes (who visited me earlier in the summer) and his girlfriend for sushi, the beach, and the Richmond Night Market.

9) I DID THE GROUSE GRIND.  Last time I was in Vancouver, Becca T and I *both* refused to do it.  However, I've come to enjoy fitness challenges (OK mainly running) in the past five years and I really wanted to do it to say I'd done it.  I DID IT!  2.9 km of wicked outdoor stair climbing to an ascent of 900 m.  Both Rawbean and Wes joined me!  Blogger mountain summit, anyone? Anyway, it was HARD, but the endorphin rush at the end, and the sense of accomplishment, was well worth the pain and exhaustion.  Also, the people I met along the way were super fun!

10) Rawbean and I celebrated the GG by going shopping downtown.  Unbeknownst to us, the Zombie Parade was happening at the same time.  It was super long!  We kept going in and out of stores and there were still more and more zombies.  It was awesome.  There was everything from Zombie Thriller Michael Jackson, to Miss Zombie Universe, to the zombies who reminded the rest of the zombies to obey traffic signals.

11) I finished my Vancouver adventure by joining Wes and friends for a local show at a venue that used to be a sushi restaurant.  It was fun, although I was so tired from the GG.  I also got to meet more fun people (shout out to Crystal, who might be a new reader!).

Looking back on my few days in Vancouver, I had such a great time.  I think Vancouver won me over more this trip than it did the first time I traveled there, and that's not just the remnants of the GG endorphins talking.  I'm not sure what the difference was, because I liked it in 2007 and had lots of fun, but it shone more this trip.  Maybe it was leftover Olympic sparkle, who knows?  Anyway, I had a really great time, and now I'm looking forward to a laid back quiet week on the island.  Yay summer.  Please don't end!

Awesome.

Rawbean and I met for drinks and dinner in Gastown tonight. 

It was the stuff of legend.

p.s. Claire, she's in on the PEI plan.

We won't leave it all in our heads.

I got home this evening from a super fun few days in Kingston.  I got to visit a friend, make new friends, explore a cute little city, and go to a music festival on a cute little cottage-y island.  Fun!

I arrived on Wednesday, and went out for Vietnamese food for dinner, followed by a refreshing swim in the lake.  On Thursday, I got a thorough tour of Kingston by foot, and spent a nice evening at a pub.  We had plans to go paddle-boarding on Friday, but since the forecast called for rain, the paddle-board rental place was closed, so we drowned our sorrows with one of those margaritas with a Corona stuck in it.  Instead of paddle-boarding, we shopped around downtown Kingston, which proved to be profitable because I found a really cute pair of silver leaf earrings.

We ordered pizza for dinner, which was hilarious because it took us an embarrassingly long time to navigate the pizza place's new online ordering system.  I don't even think we'd had drinks by that time!  After we got our hard-earned pizza, we went out in the pouring rain to catch the ferry to Wolfe Island.

My pal Melly, who had been watching the weekend's weather forecast with the eyes of a hawk, had messaged me to bring a raincoat since the POP for Friday was 90%.  Of course, being the city girl that I am, I didn't own a proper summer raincoat.  I find all you really need is an umbrella in the city since public transit can get you most places, and on rainy days I just stay inside.  Thankfully, I was able to pick up a last minute rain jacket at the Eaton Centre before I caught the bus to Kingston.  I needed it for that ferry ride, I tell you.  And, I think it'll probably come in handy for my trip to BC, so it was a great last minute purchase.

As soon as we got off the ferry, the rain let up somewhat.  Wolfe Island is a very cute cottage community with little churches, restaurants, and an annual music festival.  We made it to the baseball field where some bands were playing.  They were supposed to be playing in front of the town hall, but that was moved because of the rain.  Anyway, we got some beer, and had fun seeing Mike O'Neill and the Pinecones, before Elliott Brood hit the stage for a really fun set.  The rain had completely stopped by the time we settled in for the bands.

We headed over to the General Wolfe hotel to hear a bit of Yukon Blonde.  We couldn't see them since the place was so packed.  After awhile we thought that we should get the next ferry, but didn't consult the schedule, and found out we had to wait until the 1:20 am ferry.  We walked around town for a bit, and heard someone singing "Rockin' in the Free World" from somewhere, and figured that we should crash that party.  It turned out to be Hollerado playing in a sweltering church hall, and we stayed there for awhile, obtained 2-for-1 beer, and fist pumps.  We had a super fun end to the evening dancing to Hollerado before we caught the last ferry to Kingston.

The format of the WIMF changes on the Saturday to just one stage. We got there in time to see a fun band named Nightbox, then went for lunch at the Island Grill, where we ordered too much food, and then spend the rest of the day lounging and listening to bands.  Zeus put on a great set, but the highlight of the evening was Rich Aucoin.  I have never seen such a fun and interactive performer.  I knew none of his songs, but he turns his show into a multimedia interactive experience, so I was singing and dancing along.  It was incredible.  I've turned into a convert and will be there next time he plays Toronto.  Oh, and he did it all with borrowed equipment!  Air Canada had lost his gear!

Here's a video for one his songs.  It's fun but does not translate how insanely fun he is live.  Go see him if you can!



Today was a lazy day with brunch, the Kingston antique market, and a bus-ride back to Toronto.  I'm glad to be home, but I won't be for long; three more sleeps and I fly to Vancouver!

Also, I totally would like to do WIMF again, but I'll be in Kenya for next year's WIMF.  My deposit cheque cleared, so I assume that means I'm officially going!  Yay!  Maybe my next WIMF will be in 2014!

Blow off the roof and let in the dark.

I think I just wrote the best email ever.  This is how it went.

How was your trip?

I didn't know that you were home already! I'm off to Kingston to drink bourbon and see rock bands on Wednesday but will be back next Monday and I'm going to visit P. in the evening so you should come too if you can get away from your responsibilities and such. Or, if not, let's have lunch next Tuesday because then on Wednesday I'm off to BC to climb a mountain and ride a bike and hang out with new friends and reconnect with long lost friends etc.

Let me know!

I guess I just thought it was the best because it made me realize:

a) I have a lot of fun left in this summer.  I'm very excited about my Kingston and BC adventures that are coming soon.

and,

b) One should always have a close friend or two who live within a twenty minute (by foot) radius of oneself.

My Olympic Addiction. A Biennial Affliction.

One month of summer has come and gone.  I actually spent a lot of it in the sunshine, so my usual white pallor is gone, and my legs are covered with a second crop of mosquito bites (glamping isn't all glamour, y'all).

HOWEVER, now that the Olympics are here, I can already feel my healthy glow fading, as I am drawn to my TV, which is normally left in the off position for weeks at a time.  The call of the outdoors has gone silent.  Instead, the call of swimming matches, synchronized diving, rowing, and many sports that I don't even understand is much louder.  Goodbye tan.

Every time the Olympics  rolls around I think "oh I'm not going to watch much of that... I don't even understand most of those sports" and then a couple days later, BLAM!, I'm working an ass-groove into my couch (Homer Simpson reference... sorry for the crudeness).

I was in Stratford for the first part of this week and watched the Olympics with my parents, who also get addicted like me (it's a family disease).  I made plans to see You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at the Stratford Festival with my aunt, and felt a pang of regret as I headed out the door because it was taking me away from the Olympics.  However, the play was really fun (I wanna go dust off my old Peanuts comics) and I was able to catch up on what I missed during primetime.  Phew.

I have been enjoying some of the stories that have been playing out during these Olympics.  How about that badminton scandal?  I don't think I ever imagined that I would write the words "badminton" and "scandal" together in my life! (Hey - they put the "bad" back into badminton!  SORRY! THAT WAS AWFUL!)  First of all, I understand why the teams were throwing the matches, but when two teams are trying to throw a match at the same time, isn't the game just going to go on infinitely?  It would have been zero-zero FOREVER, no?

When I saw clips of those poorly played games, it brought back memories.  Mainly of myself playing badminton in grade nine gym class.  I thought I was horrible, but looking back, I guess I was playing Olympic-calibre badminton.  Heck, I was even better than the disqualified teams; I couldn't even get the birdie to hit the net!

(Sidenote: my record in high school badminton was flawless.  I thought I was pretty lucky to be paired with our grade's best badminton player as my partner.  He would field all of the shots, and I would stand back and cheer as we took down pair after pair of opponents.  Now that I'm a teaching, I've learned that grouping strategy wasn't luck, but is called heterogeneous pairing.  It explains why I was often paired with students who had the academic equivalence of my badminton skills in non-gym classes.  Also, I think I sucked at badminton because no one really taught me how to play.  We just had rackets thrown at us and were told to play badminton.  How is that education?)

Enough of the traumatic high school gym class memories and back to the Olympics.  Other than Shuttlegate (as CTV calls it), I've been into swimming.  First of all, I don't like hearing people being mean to teenagers, so I've been disheartened at the finger-pointing at Ye Shiwen, the Chinese swimming phenom.  Good for her for being faster than the guys.  It's innocent until proven guilty, and she passed all her tests, so I'll give her the benefit of any doubt.  Also, I came across the story of Australian swimmer Leisel Jones, who was being called "fat" by the Australian media yet still was able to pull off a fifth place finish in the race that I watched.  This is her fourth Olympics.  URGH.  As if women don't feel bad enough about our bodies, now Olympians are being called fat.  She should have challenged those buffoons to a swim-off.  (As should Ye Shiwen.)

Note how all of this stupid criticism is toward female athletes.  Hmmm.

I found myself on Team Phelps on the Lochte versus Phelps swimming battle.  I don't have any reason why, that's just how my heart felt.  I was on the edge of my seat watching the 200m individual medley final this afternoon.  Yay for Phelps.  (I know, like he doesn't have enough gold.)

As for Canada, I'm happy with our seven medals so far.  Who doesn't remember Beijing when it took us one week to win a medal?  There was some major national hand-wringing going on then.  Now we're just wringing our hands over who will win the first gold.  I've enjoyed the silvers that we got in both men's and women's 8-person rowing, and all of our bronzes in synchronized diving, judo, and weight-lifting were fun to watch too.  However, I was super proud of our women's gymnastics team who surprised by making the finals and then coming in fifth.  Well done to them.  It's not always about winning a medal.

CTV is promising me all kinds of fun events tomorrow, but my friend Heather is coming to visit me for the weekend, and I don't think she's coming to Toronto to sit on the couch and watch the Olympics.  So maybe my tan isn't going to completely disappear.

PS I'm also super happy that CBC won the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics.  No more "I Believe"!  For non-Canadians, that is a song that the CTV plays whenever we win a medal or something significant happens.  It's very annoying.  Nails on chalkboard stuff.

PPS If I ever talk about competitive swimming this much in a post again, I owe you guys a coke!  (Mr. Burns reference)