Soft Offering (For the Oft Suffering)

This is the title of the first track of the new Hey Rosetta! album, Second Sight. I like the play on words, as I'm feeling a little oft suffering today. As soon as my holidays hit, I was hit with some sort of rattle in my lungs and fever.

Today I packed my suitcase for the holidays and dragged it to Union Station while bathed in a cold feverish sweat. I feel better now that I'm comfortablely ensconced in my seat with a Toblerone and a crappy paperback that I picked up at the train station news-stand. I actually don't think I can sleep anymore... I went to bed last night at 9 pm and slept on-and-off until 2 pm. That's how crappy I was feeling.

The last day of school was fun. The talent show went smoothly, we had a nice staff luncheon, and there was an after-hours incident with Italian moonshine that I'd really like to tell you about someday.

Before my sickness hit me, I did mange to make brunch w a friend and see the movie "Wild". Both were good. Hey: the Bier Markt has a really great brunch. For dessert you can get fresh donuts that you can dip into cappuccino creme sauce.

I did the "it's close to Christmas but no one's going to buy me a 3/4 length sleeve Tshirt with foxes on it" at Anthropologie after brunch.

Okay, time to read my shitty novel with my train coffee.

Is it Friday?

Montreal was super fun.  I had a great trip, and I even had time to relax, sleep in a little, and binge on Netflix.  The wedding was lovely, and I loved walking around snowy Montreal on Saturday evening with a group of friends that I don't see nearly often enough.  (It was an afternoon wedding.)  On Sunday, I spent the afternoon shopping, eating poutine, and exploring with my friend Gloria, and then I had a very pleasant train ride back.

This week is one of the hardest of the school year.  I'm checked out, the kids are checked out, but we still have to do work, especially with the end of the semester looming in January.  Tomorrow and Friday will be long days because I'm involved with student council who is planning the talent show.

I just can't wait until Friday and the holidays.

The sea is a good place to think of the future.

When I arrived yesterday in Florida, it was rainy and cool.  The skies were dark and gray.  It wasn't what I pictured.

There's a cold front here; but it's still warmer than it is back home, or so we told ourselves.  However, this afternoon, the Sun came out and everything felt better.  It was still cool-ish, but the sunshine makes all of the difference.  (I should have packed more sweaters; I never pack enough sweaters whenever I go somewhere where I'm convinced it will be warm - Florida, Kenya, Europe in the summertime.)

This afternoon, once I was free from conferences, I threw on my hoodie and my sandals and went down to the beach.  I had a little nap on a cabana chair, and then decided to walk up and down the beach.  The walk was lovely.  The water was cold, but after I took off my sandals and walked along the edge, I acclimatized and it started to feel warm.   I found a sand dollar and some nice seashells, saw some cool looking seabirds, and watched the sun set. 

There was a wine and cheese reception this evening, where each conference participant got two drink tickets, but because people knew/met people who didn't want their drink tickets, we ended up with many more than that.  We mad friends with some Americans, had tonnes of fun, and then went to a restaurant with a giant fish tank for dinner.

Now it's time for bed.  I hope the Sun shows up again tomorrow.

Colour me in.

This city's getting too small for me.

This all goes back to one of those shitty dating experiences that you are bound to experience if you are going through the torture that is dating in this day and age.

Back in September (the first day of school actually) I went on a really great first date with a guy with whom I had a scary amount of things in common.  Music.  Baseball.  Books.  Travel.  Lefty political leanings.  Social justice.  He'd even been to Kenya for crying out loud.

Anyway, at the end of the date, he asked me out for that weekend right away, and even texted me before I got home to reiterate that he'd had a good time.   We kept texting each other for the rest of the week.  However, come Saturday morning he texted me saying he was really sick with the flu, and could we reschedule for the next weekend.  Well, unfortunately I was out of town the following weekend, and a weeknight wouldn't work 'cuz he was out of town.

We kept texting tonnes during the interim, and finally when I was back from my weekend away, he asked me again to make plans for date #2.

Then I never heard from him again.  Yup, it went from "do you want to go out on Saturday?" to silence.

Crazy, huh?  But based upon the dating experience of other people I know, and my own, it's just a drop in the bucket.  Maybe he was a pathological liar or something, and I dodged that bullet.

Fast-forward to this Saturday when I'm waiting with my friend Sara to run a 5K race for charity.  I'd done the same race last year, and had a great time, so decided to do it again.  It's in my neighbourhood, and you get a Christmas-themed medal and a hotdog at the end.

As we're waiting, I remember that the race is for the charity that disappearing dude works for.  I tell my friend the story, with "I really hope I don't see him here," tacked onto the end.

We run the race, get our medals, and eat our hotdogs.  Before we head out, we decide we need to get our picture taken, because if you don't take a picture, it didn't happen, right?  (Ha-ha.)  We go back to the start/finish line to get our pictures taken, and ask some random guy to do the photography.  He's one of those that will take about ten pictures from different angles to ensure that you get a good shot.

After our pictures are done, I notice out of the corner of my eye that disappearing dude is at the start/finish line handing out medals. Ugh!  He could have totally given me my medal and I wouldn't have noticed.  When I get home, and look back at my pictures, he is in every single shot.  Talk about photobombing.  I spend about five good minutes cropping him out of every shot.  I'll admit, it was catharctic.

Anyway, I think that Toronto is getting too small when my bad dates show up in the background of my pictures.

***

I leave for Florida in the morning!  I'm trying to be excited but I really wish I was going with some of my close friends on this trip.  But alas, I am not.

After that, it's a weekend wedding in Montreal with my friends from university.  Even though that will be cold, I'm looking forward to the train ride (I love trains).  I haven't been to Montreal in forever, so I'm looking forward to doing some exploring.

Happy Monday to the rest of you!

Sloooooooooo-an, Christmas, Florida & Montreal

1) Sloooooooooo-an

On Saturday my friend Mathew, and some other friends by extension went to see Sloan on the final night of their Commonwealth tour.

As you all know, I am a huge Sloan fan.  I'm sure I could write hundreds of thousands of words on why I think they one of the greatest bands ever, but I won't bore you.  Let's just leave it at that I really really enjoyed their two-set show.  Yup, you read that correctly.  Sloan are so awesome that they open for themselves!

Highlights of the set for me included some gems from "Twice Removed": "I Hate My Generation" & "Worried Now".  I also loved "If It Feels Good, Do It" because that's an anthem to live by if there ever was one.

 

Bonus: I bought myself a super cute Sloan toque!  Of course, it ended up be 14 degrees today, so I couldn't really wear it.

2) Christmas Tree: I just finished putting mine up while listening to She & Him's Christmas record that I picked up in St. Louis back in May. 

3)  I'm being sent to Florida for work next week (Dec 8-11).  I'm being trained for our school's fledgling International Baccalaureate program.  I'll be in classes every day until 3:30 pm, but I'm hoping that the weather is nice so I can spend some time in the sunshine.  Then, as soon as I get back from that, I'm off to Montreal for a wedding.  Talk about crazy busy!

Tiptoe through our shiny city with our diamond slippers on.

Wow, what a fun weekend and so much random stuff to write about.  I think I'll just make a point form list.

• Visitors!  I got to spend some time with my dear pals Wes from Vancouver and Matt from Winnipeg.  There were art galleries, afternoon drinks, wedding guesting, brunches, new socks, record shopping, and a Gilmore Girls marathon involved.  So much fun.
  
• I went to my friend Katie's wedding with my faraway pals.  It was lovely and much fun.  Bring on the winter wedding season, I say.  (I have one more.)
  
• I finally found The National's "Boxer" and the Weakerthans' "Reconstruction Site" on vinyl.  At HMV of all places.
  
• Wes and I went to a Raptors' game on Monday and holy shit it was fun.  Did you know the Raptors are doing exceptionally well, and are at the top of their division?  Yes, a Toronto sports team is doing well.  Can they please not be like the Jays and actually manage to keep it going until the playoffs?  PLEASE.  I beg of you Drake, keep this going.  (Drake is the Raptors' celebrity ambassador and that's why I am beseeching him to keep the Raptors winning.  Also, I kind of like Drake.)
  
  Oh, they won too.  Raps 104, Suns 100.  Pretty close and really exciting.  I suspect this won't be my only basketball game this season.
  
• Speaking of sports, my baseball buddies (Mathew & Vic) and I have our 15-game passes ironed out for next season, and I'm going to complete the bobblehead trifecta again, I promise you all.  Great players this year are going to be passed out for free in bobblehead form: Bautista, Stroman and the new guy Martin.  Also isn't it funny how obsessions come out of nowhere and take a hold of me?  Two years ago I didn't really care about baseball, and now I'm a freak.
  
• Speaking of obsessions, Matt from Winnipeg got me hooked on what has become the most popular podcast ever: Serial (serialpodcast.org).  Go listen now and report back to me.  I would love to have an hour long conversation with someone about this podcast.
  
• I also love the new Taylor Swift album.  Yes, I know.

And that is all. :)

Nostalgia.

How do I write this post?  It's sort of a crazy stream of consciousness that went through my head through the past two days so I'll lay it out like that.

Yesterday I ran the Holly Jolly Run which is where people run the Santa Claus Parade route before the parade.  Then my friends and I TTCed up to Museum station to watch the parade from that area. 

Back in university, which was, oh shit, going on 15 years ago, my dear friend Becca T and I would take a study break on a Sunday and go watch the parade from that very spot.

Fastforward to present-day, where I'm in the same spot, with different friends, and I see the University of Toronto Engineering Marching Band go by, and then I remember the dreaded *other* Rebecca, who was in that marching band, lived in the same building as Becca T and I, and annoyed the hell out of me.  For the first few months, my Rebecca, the good one, did not like U of T, and was filling out transfer forms to go to the U of Ottawa.  I remember my fear that she'd leave, and the dreaded other Rebecca would ask me to be roommates the next year.  I would have to, for quite possibly the first time in my life, not be a nice person, and say no just to save my own sanity.

Luckily, and quite possibly because of its close proximity to fun things like the Santa Claus Parade, U of T finally grew on Becca and she stayed.  Incidentally, the dreaded other Rebecca moved out of our residence, so I wouldn't have had to be her roommate anyway.  I saw her a few times after that.  I remember once going for coffee with her and some of our friends and I mentioned that my goal was to become a teacher, and she scoffed at me, as if it was an inferior career suited to the lowliest of minds.  Ironically, the last time I ever saw the other Rebecca was when I got talked into joining the Faculty of Education broomball team in by BEd year.  We played against the engineering team, of which she was a part.  I don't remember the outcome of the game, but for the sake of narrative, let's just say it was a convincing win for the educators.

Anyhow, I left this year's parade a little bit early to walk through the part of campus where I lived for my university career (3 years in residence + 2 years in an apartment directly beside my old residence).  Things have changed; there's a giant condo going up across from my res in once used to be a parking lot, the residence itself seems to have shiny new windows, and the closest convenience store is now a coffee shop. 

However, the rest of the neighbourhood is the same. I can still vividly remember my first day at residence where the Residence Dean knocked on my door to tell me my new roommate, someone who I'd eventually find out is the good Rebecca, wouldn't be arriving until the next day.  I felt kind of flummoxed, since everyone else was unpacking their rooms and getting to know their roommates and there I was alone.

I had not brought thumbtacks with me.  Since I had extra time, I went to the mall across the street to buy some.  That felt like quite the adventure, and I can still picture how big, shiny, and cosmopolitan the downtown neighbourhood felt to a small-town kid like me.  And to think that was going to be my home for the next four years (at least).  Holy shit.

I returned with my thumbtacks to a flurry of activity in the room.  Somehow the mysterious absent roommate had arrived even though she wasn't supposed to, and her family was helping her unpack. Ahhh.  I introduced myself, most likely awkwardly, and set about hanging up pictures of my favourite bands.  When my roommate asked me who the bands, were, I was shocked and appalled that she didn't know, which I now tease her about all the time.  Becca was worried because all she knew of rock music was there was a band where the lead singer committed suicide, and she was afraid that I liked that band, and that it was a sign that I was potentially unbalanced.

Funny to think that two people who were first so apprehensive of each other became great friends for life.  And that I converted the girl who knew nothing about bands, into an awesome concert buddy.  In fact, once my friend Greg commented "it's so awesome that you two were randomly put in a room together.  You both love music so much!" Oh it wasn't always like that.

Just walking through the old neighbourhood brought back these memories, and then I started watching season 4 of Gilmore Girls where Rory goes to Yale, and once again, I started thinking about my fond memories.  Then, I entered into the downward internet spiral of "maybe I should get my master's!" etc. etc.  This all ended with me dragging my degrees out of my closest, and swearing that I should hang them up somewhere, and then digging out the silver medal I won as a graduation reward.  All of this reminds me that I am indeed smart, because I don't think that my university self could have predicted that one of the side of effects of adulthood is that you feel kind of dumb a lot of the time.  Weren't the degrees supposed to negate that feeling?  That's why I should hang those suckers up. And the medal too.

Yesterday I texted Becca T to tell her I was in the traditional standing spot for the parade.  She replied "remember the other Rebecca and the engineering band?" then proceeded to tell me how she was excited for the Twin Forks concert in Vancouver.  I love how things have changed, but they're still the same.

Oh, and you might be wondering why I'm still up so late on a school night.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow (well today) because the dreaded ugly chin rash from September has reappeared.  So I'll have to keep my chin up still, ha-ha.

Under Control.

Work is, at least.  I have all of the marking under control, and the planning aspect is under control thanks to the fact that I have someone else (student teacher) teaching 2/3 of my courses.  This momentary calmness will last another week, and then it will be back to normal.

I volunteered to "supervise"  boys' basketball practice on Thursday as a favour to my pal Nigel (who repaid me last Friday with the shaving cream high-five) and as a strategic move.  I figured that if I was forced to stay in the building an extra two hours every Thursday, I could dedicate that two hours to intensive marking, and hopefully stay more on top of things, and reduce the amount of homework that I have to do.  Well, since I'm on top of things, right now I'm chilling and blogging.

(Note: "supervise" refers to the fact they just need a certified teacher around.  There are very nice volunteer coaches who take care of all of the sports stuff.  I'm just sitting in an office right now.)

Anyway, it's nice to have my work life under control at the moment.  I should be using my time to start planning the new course I'm teaching next semester, or even working ahead on exams and such, but I feel that during this Thursday's forced stay at school, after blogging, I'm going to curl up with a book. 

Tomorrow is a PD day, so tonight kind of feels like Friday.  This weekend will be mostly chill I think.  I'm doing a run before the Santa Claus parade with my friend Sara.  It should be fun. 

I'm super excited because my friend Melly, from Winnipeg, told me last night she need a couch to crash on in Toronto on Monday.  I haven't seen her since she lived in Kingston two years ago.  I tell you, November is the month of faraway visitors!

Well, that's about it.  I just wanted to use my extra time to check in on the old blog.  :)

Remember to breathe.

I had a wonderful couple days with my pal AlieMalie.  We went to Swiss Chalet for Festive Specials, shopped around Yorkdale, and I took her to one of my fave Toronto restaurants: The Ace.  It was really special getting a ride to work from a far-away friend on Friday (bonus alliteration points right there), and I'm glad that she could squeeze in a visit in between work insanity.

Friday was a rather average day at school, other than the fact I got pranked.  During second period, when my student teacher was teaching, four kids & my pal Nigel came to the door, although I didn't notice Nigel at first.  Two of the kids are on student council, and they said "Miss, we have come here to thank you for all of the extra work you do for the school.  You put in a lot of time doing things extra things like student council and we really appreciate it."

"Oh, wow.  That's really nice," I said while beaming.  "You guys have really made my day."

"As a thank you, we'd like to give you an honourary high five," they continued and proceeded to give me enthusiastic high fives.  When I got a high five from Nigel, I noticed that my hand became covered in a white foamy substance.  Oh no!  I had become the victim of a shaving cream high five!

My class started to laugh at me uncontrollably, and pointed out that I had shaving cream in my hair.  It was pretty funny, and I appreciated the prank. It made my Friday morning a little more interesting.  It was also funny because I was wearing my favourite blue button down shirt with swans on it (Target fashion for the win), and about ten minutes after I thought I'd cleaned up all of the shaving cream, I noticed a big glob on my shirt.  The swans had camouflaged it.

After school was pretty fun because a few of us went out for drinks in celebration of a friend's birthday.  Then, I came home and had a nap before Friday night outing #2: Twin Forks at Lee's Palace with my friend Elaine.  The band's set started at 11:30 pm.  I tell you, going to something that starts at 11:30 pm makes me feel young!  Elaine and I met up for coffee at about 10, and then got to Lee's just in time to find a good standing spot.  This is my third time seeing Twin Forks this year.  They are the new project of Chris Carrabba, the founder of my favourite emo band Dashboard Confessional.  They put on a fun show.  My favourite moment was the encore when Chris did a solo of Dashboard's "Remember to Breathe".

The rest of the weekend has been chill.  I made a lot of progress on my favourite project these days: I'm now well into season 3 of Gilmore Girls.

I was supposed to do a trail run somewhere outside of Peterborough with my friend Rasa today, but she was hurt and she had to bail on me.  I tried to find another friend to take her place, but no one was able, and it wasn't really worth it to rent a car.

I did however sign up for a couple of Christmas-themed runs to do with another friend.  We're going to do the Jolly run that precedes the Santa Claus parade next Sunday, and the Santa Shuffle at the beginning of December.

I also booked my trip to Montreal in December to attend the wedding of one of my friends from university.  I'm looking forward to getting out of the city, enjoying a long train ride, and staying in a hotel.  It will be fun.

Do you ever rewind to the summer you knew me?

Things I like these days:

1) Walking down the residential street that leads to my work and smelling that nice autumnal smell (which is decaying leaves, I think).

2) Scented candles.  Seriously, what have I become?  Two weekends ago I bought one of those giant three-wick candles from Bath & Body Works, in Pumpkin Apple scent, and it's almost gone.

3) Being at work a little bit less.  In October, I felt that I was pulling anyway from 9-hr to 13-hr days at school almost every day (and that doesn't count weekend hours spent marking).  This week I don't have the need to stay as late, and somehow I am almost caught up on my marking.   Nice.

4) New albums.  There's a lot of stuff coming out these days, and I'm easing through it.  These days I'm listening to Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness, which is perfectly pleasant.  Then I'm going to get the new Hey Rosetta! album.  I'll follow that up with the new Damien Rice album.  (Notice how I'm doing these one-by-one... I'm not good at multitasking when it comes to new music.)

5) My purple puffy vest.  It's not that purple though.  Super dark so I can get away with it.  Vest weather is short, and must be taken advantage of.

6) Vistors. My pal AlieMalie is in Detroit for work stuff, and is going to trek to Toronto for a couple of days starting tomorrow.  And then in a couple of weeks, my pals Matt from Wpg and Wes from Vancouver are going to both be around for a mutual friend's wedding.  Yay!

Halloween and Hibernation

Halloween is always a crazy day at school.  Kids and staff in costumes, candy everywhere, and not much work getting done.  It's surprisingly draining.

This year a bunch of us dressed up a my school's computer science teacher.  This guy is a dear friend, and quite a character.  He wins the teacher costume competition every year without even trying because he is hilarious.  Anyway, we all decided to go as him.  All that was needed was a short black wig, glasses, a polo shirt, jeans, clunky shoes, and a lanyard of keys around the neck. 

It was a success.  When the kids walked into my room they would say things like "oh no! another one?  How many of you are there??" It was pretty funny.

On Halloween Eve, I was going to borrow my friend Mathew's house to hand out candy.  He's a grumpy old man (who is younger than me) who turns off his lights and does not give out candy.  I like handing out candy, but don't get to since I live in a building.  Anyway, operation candy will have to happen next year, as Mathew ended up having a party to go to that night, so I stayed in with another friend, ordered Chinese food, had some drinks, and watched Halloween episodes of the Simpsons.

The rest of the weekend was so chill.  I essentially hibernated.  I did manage to go out to get groceries but that was it.  I got a good amount of housework done, and an even larger number of episodes of the Gilmore Girls watched.

In fact, I really wish I could have another hibernation day tomorrow, but it's Monday, and it's back to the old grind.  And no more pagan holiday to justify slacking off.

Happy Halloween!

Wow, I can't believe that October is coming to a close. 

I don't have anything else of substance to say, so I'll encourage you to click here and look at these awesome Simpsons Halloween costumes.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/declancashin/cant-sleep-clown-will-eat-me

So much to blog about...

...so little time.

But my period 3s are working hard on a test, so I can point form update.

1) Dream Serenade at Massey Hall on Saturday was *AMAZING*.  Lineup was:

• Lou Canon
• Greylands
• Jason Collett
• Sarah Harmer
• Barenaked Ladies
• Hayden
• Billy Talent
• Aaron & Matt from The National
• Feist

There were all kinds of special treats like when Aaron & Matt from The National joined Hayden for the song "Dynamite Walls", when Sarah Harmer joined Billy Talent for "Surrender", and when Hayden joined The National for "I Need My Girl".  And of course, there was a group sing along at the end.

Even though I enjoyed sets by some of my very favourites (Sarah, Hayden, The National, and Feist), the highlight might have just been The Barenaked Ladies, whom I've never seen live before.  That's shocking considering they are a mainstay of Cdn music, and I'm a mainstay of Cdn music concerts.  Anyway, at the end they did a mashup of current pop songs (Roar, Wrecking Ball, etc. etc.) that had me roaring for laughter.

And this was all for a great cause.  Hayden's daughter has a developmental disability, and the funds went to the Beverley School, which is for students with developmental/physical disabilities.  As an educator who does work with some students with these disabilities, it was very close to my heart.

Good news: it was the First Annual Dream Serenade, so I look forward to going again!

2) LIGHTS at the Danforth Music Hall on Sunday night was pretty great too.  She's an excellent live performer, and it was a super fun show.  And, I was super happy to have a comfy seat up in the balcony, and it was done by 10:30 pm.  A perfect activity for both the young and old in me.

3) It's Election Time! FINALLY.  I hope our new mayor has a last name other than Ford.  I am proudly voting for Olivia Chow if you are interested.  I am not voting "strategically" because I don't want another conservative running my city.  I'm voting with both my head and my heart for the best and most progressive candidate.

4) Ugh, the Jian Ghomeshi scandal has got me down and I'm sickened.  Obviously we don't know for sure what happened, but I feel (just like I felt with Rob Ford) that where there's so much smoke, there's gotta be fire.  I always enjoyed his radio program, Q, and liked him so it really sucks that he's turned out to be an awful and abusive person.  Boo.

Cancel life.

Sometime ago, I read that every season of Gilmore Girls was going to be on Netflix, but only American Netflix. Boo for me as I haven't gotten around to figuring out the trick that allows a Canadian to access American Netflix.  This is actually OK because I spend more time on Netflix figuring out what to watch as opposed to actually watching stuff.  Therefore, I prefer having the smaller selection that Canadian Netflix offers.

Back to Gilmore Girls.  I used to watch that show sporadically back in my university days.  I believe it was on on Friday nights, and usually I'd be partying, studying, or on a train to Stratford on Friday nights. I was always in and out of that show, but I really did like it.  I was sad when I heard that it would only be on US Netflix.

But then, all sneaky-like, it appeared on Netflix this weekend!  Well, actually it might have been before that, but I didn't notice until the weekend.  My friend Wes had tweeted "The entire series of Gilmore Girls is on Netflix. Cancel life," but I'd missed that since I was like doing stuff or something as opposed to being on Twitter.

However, upon my discovery, I spent a chilly afternoon/evening indoors watching yesterday.  I got six episodes in and the show is bringing me so much joy!  Did you know Kirk had a bunch of different names at the beginning?  And it's so sweet to watch Rory connect with her grandfather at the golf club.  And the wake for Cinnamon, the cat?  I wish I lived in Stars Hollow.   I sometimes think I belong more in a quirky close-knit small town as opposed to the big city.  Surely there must be one of those out there that needs a science teacher, right?  And there's gotta be a version of Luke's Diner in that town too.

So, in summary, if you need me, I'm probably watching Gilmore Girls. 

Another life, another weekend.

This is my favourite song by a long shot these days.



Topic #1 - Signs of Aging

I'm getting older (and so are you, sorry).  I'm noticing that my willingness to put up with a lot of shit decreases as I get older.  For example: I am much more willing to fork out money for a cab these days because sometimes I can't deal when it comes to public transit.  For example, this morning I took a cab downtown to board a shuttle bus to get me to the starting line of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 5K.  Last year, I got up at the crack of dawn, and took a bus and then another bus to get me to the shuttle buses.  It was cold, and I had to wait a long time for each TTC bus.  This year, all I could think was eff that, I'm forking out for a cab.  And I did, it was glorious not waiting out in the cold.

As I get older, I hate lines more and more.  And waiting, gawd do I hate waiting.

But I do enjoy being able to take a break every now and then and relax.  So I'm not all about the hate and the "I can't even".

Topic #2 - Cross Border Shopping Trip

Yesterday, I went on a cross border shopping to trip to "The Buffalo" with my friend Mathew.  We call Buffalo NY "The Buffalo" because Mathew is the worst when it comes to talking to border agents.  He was once asked where in the US we'd been, and he said "The Buffalo" and it's been called that ever since.

His performance coming back this time was slightly better, although he kept looking over at me when the agent asked if either of us had accepted gifts while we'd been over.  Afterwards, I ribbed him for that because I was like "Why were you looking at me?  Did you think I accepted a gift when we split up?  Or should I have declared that I got a sample of beer at the grocery store?"

We ended up having our car searched, which has never happened to me, but once they saw that it was full of cookies and yummy food from Trader Joe's they let us go quickly.

I know you might roll eyes at this, but I'm so glad that you exist.

Probably the VERY BEST song for a Canadian Thanksgiving is the one below.  Press play, please.



I love that the only thing that even approaches a love song by my favourite band is this one.  It's not cheesy, and speaks of the kind of affection and appreciation that I really hope that everyone has in their lives.  The kind that's not fleeting and fickle as romantic love can often be (and everyone write about that kind).  Although if you have romantic love that is not fleeting nor fickle, I'm so happy for you! :D

My favourite phrases from this song are:

1) "How you make me laugh so hard." --> I think one of things that I value most in life is a deep, long laugh, the type that takes your breath away a little, might make your stomach hurt a lot (or a bit), and is really hard to stop.  Little laughs are great, don't get me wrong.  But those really hard laughs make life worth living.  I'm lucky to have so many people in my life that bring me these laughs.  Like when I'm in London hanging with my dear friend Claire, and we are killing ourselves over "Fish Christy thinks vertically", Giggy, a dog on the RHOBH who is very committed to the cause of children with alopecia in Missouri, and a tonne more.  Or my pals Alex and Wes, who buckle up growlers of the world's best Pumpkin Ale* in the backseat.  Or, closer to home there's my friend Mathew who just sends me into hysterics with indecipherable texts about playoff baseball and Dateline NBC.  Or my co-workers, with whom I'm writing a sitcom script that describes everyday absurdity. 

Bascially, I'm thankful for anyone who makes me laugh so hard, is what I'm trying to say with the above rambling paragraph.

2) "And you tell me to fuck off when I need somebody to." --> This one isn't as fun as #1, but seriously friends who will tell you to fuck off when you are being stupid about something are great too.  I have the very bad habit of beating myself up over so many things; I'm my worst critic, and I think I most often need to be told to fuck off when I'm tearing myself down.  And my friends are there for me to tell me that I'm being idiotic with all of the self-deprecation.  Or, to tell me to fuck off when I'm just being annoying or whiny.  That happens sometimes too.

And I guess, on this Canadian Thanksgiving, I'm most thankful for people who make me laugh so hard and tell me to fuck off.

*If I were in St. Louis right now, I would be drinking so much of Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale.  It's probably best for my liver that I'm not.  That stuff tastes like the beer version of pumpkin pie.  Sooooo good.

It's been a hard year, and I only know.

These days I'm listening to LIGHTS' new ablum, Little Machines, on heavy rotation.  I like it.  So much so that I decided to grab a ticket to her October show at the Danforth Music Hall.  Yes, after the totally awesome me-date I had going to see the Cons at the Danforth, I've decided the Danforth's balcony is my favourite new place to hang.

I love this song.



I'm also super in love with the NPR stream of Stars' new album No One Is Lost.

You know where to find me any time you want me.

This is my favourite October song.



I can't believe that it took me until the early hours of October 8th to listen to it.

I should be sleeping but I'm not because I passed out on my couch after drinking two strong beers (Delerium Tremens!) at a work pub Pictionary event.  It was fun, and boy I can't draw.

Before the pub, I spent sometime wandering on College St running errands.  It was a nice afternoon for this, and I just missed the rain that's been falling steadily all evening.

I think I had more to write about, but I've completely forgotten.  I'm always writing brilliant (I'm sure of it) blog posts in my head while on the subway or walking around, but they disappear as soon as I sit to write.  I should take notes.

So maybe next post you'll get something a little more interesting than my favourite October song.

End of camp, new week already.

I'm still rather exhausted from three days of keeping up with 40 teenagers at camp, but it was a fun time.  Lots of laughs, beautiful autumn scenery, hikes, and late night nights.  On Friday, I returned to the city, dragged my stuff home on the TTC, changed out of my muddy jeans and sneakers, and headed off to see the Constantines at the Danforth Music Hall.  It was an excellent show, and thank goodness for balcony seats.

I've been pretty lazy for the rest of the weekend.  I finished re-reading "Gone Girl" and went with my pal Mathew to see the movie.  I thought the movie was an excellent adaptation of the novel, and I'm glad that I read the novel again, so I could really see what was changed from print to screen.  (I first read the book two years ago, so wouldn't have remembered all of the details.)

And with that, another week begins, but at least it's followed by a long weekend.

Camp and burnout.

Tomorrow I am off to supervise a leadership camp for three days for the third year in a row.  This means that I had a late night at school assembling lesson plans for when I'm away, and I still haven't packed because I am watching postseason baseball.

Teaching is a profession where it's way more work to be away than to be there.  I carefully plan all medical appointments and yeesh, I even try to plan my illnesses.  My chin rash thing has cleared up, and I really hope that it does not come back for a third time, because I really don't have time/energy to take time off to go to the doctor.

Because I do a lot of extracurricular activities at my school, I totally understand the concept of professional burnout.  It's been ten years of working at this pace.  I sort of want to give up some of the extra things that I do, but I don't have the heart to, because I know that no one else would take it over from me, or if they did, let's face it, there would be a risk that quality would decrease.  (For some strange reason, my environmental club has attracted over 50 members this year, and I know it's because they've become a family that attracts new members, but having a fun moderator who looks for opportunities for them helps.)  However, instead of cutting back, I've decided that I have no more yeses to give this year.  If someone asks me to do anything else, all I have is nos.

I always have lots of fun at this camp because the kids are great, the facilities are nice, and my fellow supervisors are fun people to hang out with.  Sadly, the guidance councilor who organizes this program is retiring this year.  The joke is she's grooming me to take over, but I don't think I could handle the organizational aspect of this program on top of a full teaching load AND all of the rest of the stuff I do.  It'd be cool to find someone to team up with, but all of my friends are like-minded educators with a lot on their plates and no more yeses to give.

Anyway, sorry for the rant.  Some days I envy lazy teachers who do nothing, but I know I wouldn't be able to handle being one of those people. I just can't believe I'm this tired into September.  Although a lot of it is because I need to exercise more, which is a topic for another post.

Weekend/Question

The past weekend was pretty good.  Beautiful weather, drinks on a patio, baking pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, dinner with a friend, Jays season closer, and a few nice naps.

I excitedly booked Constantines reunion tickets waaaaaay back in June, not thinking that it would conflict with the annual school leadership camp that I chaperone annually.  (The date always changes, and I think I thought it was in September this year.)  Anyhow, I gave away my tickets to my friend the music teacher at work, and now I'm debating picking up a ticket for the Friday show for myself.  I could get a seated balcony ticket, and just chill up there with a beer.  I'll probably be tired from staying up late to ensure teenagers don't leave their rooms and get up to no good, but I should be OK to sit at a rock show, right?

What do you guys think?  Should I spend more money and take myself on a date to the Cons?

Update: Texted my pal Matt in Winnipeg re: this issue.  His response: "Yes! You love them! You'll have earned that sit [in the balcony]."  Thanks to this enabling, I've purchased a ticket.

Chin Up.

The inspiration for this post, is a comment by my pal Kevin on my previous post, which was to keep my chin (with its ugly mysterious rash) up during yucky times.

Bahahaha.  I literally laughed out loud at that.

BUT, today we got good news that the worst of the things that was troubling me is over, and the awful thing that was happening to the best person ever is over.  Phew.  I feel so much happier now.  The rest of the stuff seems less bad now.

Today after school I finally went for a run with my friend Sara.  We'd made plans to go for a run in High Park two weeks ago, but I had to cancel to go to a funeral visitation, and then she had to cancel because of work, but we finally got out today.  And it was a lovely warm day, and it was so much fun to run through the park.  I was reminded of the awesome stress relief/mood stabilization/energy that exercise gives me, and man, I need to get back to my A+ exercise habits.

The chin rash is still there, but has gone down.  I hope it doesn't reappear, because if it does I really will need to go to the doctor, and who has time for that?

But yah, I guess I'm feeling a bit better now.  I've got my Paris-inspired candle burning, a glass of red wine, and the baseball game now.  The Jays are now mathematically out of the playoffs, but I'm happy just to enjoy the rest of the season.  They have won their last two games, so yay!

Oh good, and now Rilo is throwing up on the floor, so I guess I'll go deal with that.

Update: She didn't, but it certainly sounded it like it.  Yay!

Shake it off.

Sometimes, even when one can be an insufferable music snob, shit gets so rough that only this Taylor Swift song will do.



I've had a weird maelstrom of negatively surrounding me lately.  Most of it doesn't even have anything to do with me.  It's just people around me are struggling, and it's brought me down.  I obviously can't write about these things here, but some of them are so unbelievable that they seem more like they are out of a movie than real life.  And, some of these events are happening far away, and the updates are few and far between, so all there is to do it worry.  Blargh.  Hopefully by the time I write again things will be better.

On top of that, I'm feeling hurt and confused because there was someone who seemed super into me, and then that someone asked to make plans with me over the weekend and then *poof* disappeared, and won't even respond to my text messages.  What the what?  I don't get things. 

Oh, and I think my skin is paying the price for all of this.  Three weeks ago, I got this weird rash on my chin (it seriously makes me look like I've fallen and hit my chin).  It cleared up in time for school picture day last week, and then boom! It came back again this morning.  I haven't been using any new skin products, soaps, detergents, etc, etc so I have no idea what could be causing it other than S-T-R-E-S-S.

But, but, but, there's always a bright side right?

Instead of moping around on Saturday night, I went over to my pal Mathew's house and watched him cook one of his 52 new dishes of 2014.  I insisted on opening a bottle of wine he'd been planning on returning to the LCBO (he's weird), and then we watched Dateline NBC and I had some good laughs thanks to creepy Keith Morrison.  I swear belly laughs are the best.

And, I had some good laughs/warmed heart on Friday afternoon during my prep period when I was returning to my office after photocopying some stuff, and a few kids came running out of the chemistry room shouting "Miss, there's a gas leak!" while they were holding molecular molecules of methane.  I pretended to drop my stuff and I replied that I would alert the authorities.

They had a supply teacher, and had clearly been snooping through cupboards instead of doing chemistry.  "Did you guys make those and wait for me all this time?" I asked, and they replied yes.  I grabbed my camera and made them re-enact the scene because really, that's a good memory to look back on when I'm feeling down and have a weird rash on my chin.

On Sunday, I met up with a friend for a spontaneous brunch, dropped by Starbucks where my pal Fea was marking for some laughs, then came home for my transatlantic bad movie date with my pal Claire.  We drank red wine and watched the same awful movie while texting back and forth.  It was fun.

And lastly, it looks probable that I'm going to get a former student as a student teacher in October.  She was an exceptional former student, so I'm quite excited.

I'll leave you with one of my latest musical finds that I don't feel guilty about.  I saw Lowell play at Field Trip back in June, and she was great.  Her album "We Loved Her Dearly" came out this month on Arts & Crafts, and I adore it.

You've got a lot on your mind.

This post is going to be all about music.

1) Sloan - Commonwealth

Sloan released their new album last Tuesday, and even though they were doing a performance/signing at the HMV by the Eaton Centre, I decided to skip it and go out for dinner with friends.  (Am I getting older, more mature, and less music-obsessed?  Maybe.  But it doesn't feel right to do Sloan-stalking without my dear Becca T.)

Yesterday, I went to Sonic Boom to buy the record, but they didn't have it.  Then I headed down to HMV and Sunrise by the Eaton Centre but no luck.  I begrudgingly bought it online, because I know that I wanted it on vinyl (it retrospect, I should have just preordered the thing).  Luckily, a download came with purchase of the record, and I've been listening to it since yesterday.

And I love it.

As you may/may not know, Sloan has four distinct singer-songwriters, and this album is a double album, where each writer gets a side.  I think I like the Jay side best, but I also really adore Patrick's side and Chris' side too.  I never really like Andrew's stuff, and his side is one seventeen-minute long song, which is so Andrew. 

This song by Jay is probably the album standout for me (so far).  It really really speaks to something happening in my life right now.  Sloan, how do you know me so well?  Also who can't love a song with "p.s. I like you" as a lyric?



23 years together and this band still releases interesting and creative music.  I can't wait until they announce a Toronto show for this album.

2) Brill Bruisers - The New Pornographers

This was the one album that I did manage to pick up yesterday during my record shopping trip.  I love it.  It's jangly pop music, with a lot of Neko Case vocals.  I'm just sad that they didn't include a download code with the vinyl.  (This rarely happens!)





3) Dream Serenade

I got tickets today to this October show at Massey Hall.  It's organized by Hayden (who's pretty much my #1 crush) and will feature performances by himself, Feist, Matt & Bryce of The National, and more.  It's a fundraiser for a charity that helps kids with developmental disabilities, so that's a pretty awesome thing.

4) OH NO!

It looks like I double booked myself.  For the past two years, I have chaperoned a leadership camp for my school.  The weekend always moves around.  I thought it fell this year in September, so I didn't worry when I bought Constantines tickets for October 2nd.  I was wrong.  BOO. 

(However they are playing on the Friday and I'm tempted to buy myself a ticket for that date...)

5) New Damien Rice!

After something like nine years, he's releasing a new album.  Sadly, I didn't realized he's playing here on October 14th and it's sold out.

Anyway, that sums up music news in my world.  What are you listening to these days?

Through cracks come the weeds.

Sigh. Autumn's here, and even though it's my favourite season and I should be excited, I feel that the autumn of 2014 might be the autumn of stuff falling through the cracks.

I would write more, since I haven't been able to put together a blog post in forever, but whenever I do it sounds whiny and pointless, so I won't.

I guess it's best to find humour in things. Last night I posted an emo tweet about something that seemed good just disappearing, and a friend of mine replied asking me if I was talking about the Blue Jays. I guess I've come across as super baseball obsessed this year, huh? And for the record, they haven't been disappointing in September,. The wild card is still a possibility!

Well I should use this cool autumn weather to continue my path of getting myself back to being 5K ready in a month. I has a lazy summer and I'm paying for it fitness-wise. However, I'm not going to become a better runner by writing mopey blog posts in bed, so I should lace up my shoes.

I'm in Stratford, I should mention! I saw Hawksley's play yesterday and it was awesome yet again!

I'm a survivor.

I made it through the first week of school, and holy hell did I feel exhausted.

At my school, they usually play music for the five minutes before class time to get everyone going in the right direction.  The kids choose the music and organize it, and since it's a new school year, we have some new tunes in the rotation.  (Thank goodness... Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack" was wearing on me.)  The new Friday morning song is "Survivor" by Destiny's Child, which was a fun choice.  I hadn't heard that song in FOREVER. 

This song caused my work spouse and I, who have the same prep period this semester, to play Beyonce during our prep.  I wasn't overly focused, so I decided to tweet the student council kids from my lame school-moderator account that we had appreciated Friday's music choice, and that a Beyonce party was happening in the science office.  They retweeted it to everyone who follows the student council account, so, oh good, the whole school knows.  Oh well, I think it's hilarious and it's good for kids to know that teachers are fun too.  (Maybe lame fun, but whatevs.)

Sidenote: my work spouse's class was telling her that Rhianna sang "Survivor" and she believed them, so I told her she needs to educate this kids on Beyonce history.  What are they teaching these kids?  Rhianna.  Yeesh.

I had a chill weekend.  I purposely did nothing on Friday because I knew I'd be shattered.  My Saturday night plans got postponed, but I had a nice Saturday afternoon.  My friend Fea told me that she was taking her kids to a neighbourhood park to have a picnic, so I planned that my 5K afternoon run would end at the park and then I hung out with them.  In the evening, I may have gone to Indigo and bought the Lego special-edition 30th anniversary Ghostbusters car (including all four Ghostbusters) and built that over the course evening while drinking a nice Beaujoulais, but maybe I didn't?  Maybe I am cooler than that.

Riot Fest was this weekend at Downsview Park with about a million bands that I love and you would have thought I'd been there but I just cannot handle Downsview.  Most of the bands I end up seeing on their own at proper shows, so I decided to opt out, even though it looks like everyone who went had an amazing time.

This week looks busy other than school.  On Monday I have a Jays game, Tuesday is dinner with friends, Thursday is running with a friend, and then on Friday I am heading to Stratford for the weekend. Yay!

September falls right into place.

This line comes from a great new Stars song.  The band released it yesterday in celebration (?) of back-to-school.



Yesterday was super easy.  I enjoyed seeing the kids.  I always say that my school has, for the most part, the nicest kids anywhere, and it's good seeing them again in September.  I have quite a few "repeat customers" in my classes, so it's nice to not really have the need to pretend that I'm tough (they know the truth... which is do your work and have fun in science). 

It was great seeing my colleagues again, especially those who are my close friends.  I'm so lucky to have lots of good friends at work, and usually we make an effort to get together once or twice over the summer, but it's nice to go back to seeing each other and joking around every day.

Today was exhausting though.  The second day is the day where I spend a lot of time talking to all of my classes.  I was so exhausted when I got home.  I managed to run a couple of errands, and get an evening coffee which is rare for me.  But despite the coffee, I still had to have a nap.

I keep coming up with good ideas for blog posts during my commutes, but then I forget them by the evening.  I need to keep a record of them.

Easy come, easy go.

Summer holidays, that is.

I can't believe that it flew by.  At the beginning of July, 2 whole months seems like a luxury that will never get spent, but it does.

I had a great summer, as you know.  July was relaxing, and August was mainly spent in Europe.  The past week I did go into school for three days: one day to plan an event, one day to plan my first week of lessons, and one day to execute the aforementioned event.  This weekend was spent with friends.  I went out to Ajax to visit my friend Flora, and then saw the Jays game on Sunday.  Today, I slept in, watched a movie on Netflix, went to the Eaton Centre to buy new black flats for school, went for a run, then made food for lunches for the week.  Now I am dying my hair (just making it a little darker) because that was the last thing I wanted to do before I go back.  (I'm sitting here with the stuff on my head right now.)

After that's done I will go sleep.  As much as I can.  The back-to-school jitters are always the worst.  I think I've decided on what to wear: a black skirt and a short-sleeved sweater.  The sweater may be a little warm, but I should live.  It's an easy day after all.   I always like to wear cute new stuff during the first week back.

I'll blog more interestingly later.

I don't care if we never come back from the night.

I've been taking it easy since I've been back from Europe.  Library trips, coffee, errands, reading, a trip to St. Ratford to get Miss Rilo from her country home, a little bit of friend time, and a Jays game.

My parents and Rilo make me laugh.  She really is happy there, and they love her, and I feel really bad taking her back home to Toronto.  She's happy in her home environment too.  I guess she's a pretty lucky cat from going from a life on the streets to having two homes.

My mother likes to point out that Rilo is extremely well behaved except for when I'm around.  As soon as I was there, she started digging her claws into the carpet, and I was informed that she only does that when I am there.  I've been told that Rilo is undisciplined before, but I guess it's just my bad influence on her.

Last night, all I felt like doing was staying in with a book.  Today was more fun: a Jays game, a trip to the mall, and then dinner/drinks with a friend. 

Now I've been chilling with the VMAs and Beyonce just hit that out of the park.  Love her.

Tomorrow is my last day until I go to school on Tuesday to start preparing for the new year.  Summer flies.

The tricky part is to come back home.

Transoceanic travel always blows my mind.

How was it just *yesterday* that I hopped on the tube to London Bridge station, where I then transferred to a National Rail train to Chislehurst to visit a friend?  A colleague from many moons ago moved to London with her husband, where since she's gotten her Master's, changed careers, and had a baby.  They have settled in a country-esque village in SW London, where she took me for walks along the horse paths, into the forest, and then to the local pub for lunch.  It was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of London, and it was fabulous to reconnect with an old friend.

And, if that wasn't enough, it was just *yesterday* evening that Claire and I met up with Kaz, another member of bridal squad who is now a new friend of mine, for drinks at Vertigo 42, a bar at the top of one of London's taller office buildings, which gives you a great view of the city.  After that, we had dinner at Wagamama's, and then Claire and I polished off a bottle of Malbec in Leyton watching the worst of the worst TV has to offer.  It was bittersweet in the fact that it would be the last silly time I'd have in London on my trip, but I'm thankful to have had these silly times.

And then just *this* morning, after having coffee with Claire, my suitcase and I were off on the tube with the morning commuters, all the way to Heathrow, where I boarded my plane to Toronto.  And now I'm here.  I managed to take myself out for sushi and get some groceries.  I'm going to curl up in my own bed watching missed episodes of Dateline with the strange reality of the fact that I woke up in London this morning on my mind.

Brussels, and #thebadgerwedding

Hard to believe a week ago, I was meh in München. That seems like a lifetime ago. Since then, I've sped across Germany in a high speed ICE train (such fun for a train nerd like myself), taken a less impressive French train from Cologne to Brussels, and then Eurostarred it beneath the English Channel to London.

Brussels was a fun, relaxed time. A pal from work was there at the same time as I, so we met for dinner and drinks and wandered the city together. I love Belgian food, architecture, and beer, and thus had a great time.

London has been great! I've had so much fun here being part of #bridalsquad for Claire & Matthew's #thebadgerwedding. It's been so great catching up with old friends, meeting new friends, eating cake, drinking wine, celebrating, and starting up new silly inside jokes (#2legit2quit, Fish Christy, it's cultural).

I could go on, but I think I may make myself more coffee and then do some London exploring. In 48 hours, I'll be on a plans back to Canada (boo/yay). Boo because I'm having so much fun, and yay cuz I miss home and am tired of living out of a suitcase.  But I'm so happy that I've made such great memories during my summer 2014 holiday in Europe.

Meh in München

Munich was okay, I guess.

The train ride was lovely through picturesque and lovely countryside. When I arrived, it was blistering hot out, and the streets were filled with people. Luckily my hotel was right next door to the train station, so finding it and getting settled was a breeze. However, I completely failed at finding somewhere for dinner, and as I was starving, I settled for disgusting fast food.

I walked around a bit, and found a pretty garden to relax in for awhile. Then, as the sun was setting, I decide to return to my hotel as I didn't feel comfy enough for an evening walk.

The next day was pouring rain. Oh good, perfect weather for the bike tour I booked. Three other poor souls joined me. It actually wasn't that bad. I always figure once you're wet, you're wet, and just go with it. Over the tour I got to see the very deserted English Gardens, museums, the university and the old town city centre. I picked up some good tips that were useful for my afternoon, and heard some interesting stories about resistance to the Nazis during WWII.

I was soaked to the bone after the tour, grabbed a latte, and then headed back to my hotel for a hot shower and dry clothes. Then, I headed back to the city centre, where I found a covered patio where I had beer, a pretzel, and the most delicious tomato soup of my life. As I was waiting for my meal, a loud family with what seemed like 14 screaming children say beside me. Oh Munich, I thought, you really do want to be enemies with me. However, it was just a joke because the family left five minutes later, and I was in better spirits during the rest of my afternoon.

I climbed the tower of St. Peter's Church for an amazing view of the city, including the New Town Hall that is seriously one of my favourite pieces of architecture ever. Then, I stumbled across the German equivalent of Indigo, and I was happy looking at German books and stationery. It was perfect, because as I left the store, it was just in time for the 5pm carillon of the bells at New Town Hall which was very cool.

I wandered some more, and then returned to my hotel for a rest. I was planning to head out again to get night-time pictures and check out the famous tourist trap beer hall, but then I realized I didn't really feel like doing either of those things. Instead, I bought a snack and a bottle of Radler (beer plus lemonade) and read a book until I fell asleep. I know the rest of my trip is going to be jam packed, so it was good to have a chill night.

And with that, I'd better head off to catch my train to Brussels!

Oh, Austria.

My two jam-packed days in Austria were amazing, and have left me wanting more. Perhaps one day, I'll pair more time in Austria with Budapest, Croatia, and Poland.

I adored the wine bike tour I did on Friday. Tours are sometimes fun to do because you don't have to think, and you meet new people. Everyone on the tour was wonderful; there were Americans, Aussies, and a couple from Malta. The guides were Spanish and Dutch, and were super hilarious and nice. As soon I said where I was from, Rob Ford jokes abounded. At one point, a guide explained that the Danube was brown and muddy, instead of blue like the song, because it was high like the mayor of Toronto. I replied "not anymore! He went to rehab. He's a changed man!" Oh thanks Rob Ford, you've finally made Toronto a world class city that's on the tip of everyone's tongues.

We took the train from Vienna to a town called Drems, where we picked up our town bikes from a garage. We biked out of town into the Wachau Valley, where we were were treated to views of vineyards on the sides of mountains. Most of the biking terrain was flat, but it was a pretty hot day, so I'm sure I sweated out all of the toxins I've put into my body on this trip.

We stopped at three wineries in total, plus a longer stop in the lovely town of Dürnstein for lunch and an optional hike to see castle ruins on a steep hill. I swear, this hike felt like the first quarter of the Grouse Grind, but I made it! The view was lovely, so it was worth it.

After biking around 25 km in total, we returned to Drems and took the train back to Vienna. When I got to my hotel, I had the best shower ever. I was too tired to bother with dinner, so I just grabbed a banana yoghurt frappucino from Starbucks (multinational chains are a godsend when you are traveling and don't want to think about food) and drank it while watching the sunset over the river.

Saturday in Vienna city was a busy one, and a hot one. I swear, there is not a toxin remaining in my body. In the morning, I visited my first palace of the day, Schloss-Schöbrunn. It was a summer retreat for the Austrian dynasty, and is reminiscent of Versailles. Then, I headed to a The Belevedere, which houses Austria's national art gallery. I bought a ticket so I could mainly see Klimt's "The Kiss" but enjoyed much of the other work, and the spectacular gardens.

After that, I inadvertently set about exploring the many gorgeous buildings, monuments, gardens, and fountains of central Vienna by foot. Vienna is so gorgeous you almost get desensitized to the beauty. I would notice a beautiful building and decide not to take a picture, because I already have a tonne of nicer pictures.

I somehow wound up by a Viennese restaurant that I'd passed on my first night in Vienna, and was ready to eat. I had a "half" plate of schnitzel, which was enormous. This resto had free wifi, and I was tweeting some hilariousness under the influence of exhaustion, probable sunstroke, and beer, my pal Aliemalie suggested I go seek out a Sacher torte, and I did. It was delicious. Then I headed home for another great shower, and early bed. I tell you, travel me is a strange creature: up early to do as many of the things as possible, then passed out by 10pm.

Today's a chill day, as I'm currently on the train to Munich. I've planned this trip well: when I require a rest day, I get it, but as I rest, I'm moving to another location.

I only really have Monday in Munich. I've booked a bike tour to get acquainted with the city, and then I plan to wander around. On Tuesday, I am off to Brussels.

And now, for a delicious train nap.

Prague in point form

I have a few minutes to blog as I sit here in Vienna enjoying my breakfast. Even though I just got here yesterday, I'm leaving the city to do a biking wine tour of the valley. Doesn't that sound amazing?

I loved Prague. I was sad to leave it and upon arriving in Vienna, I have to admit that I held it against Vienna that it wasn't Prague. I have to walk down a very modern crowded street to get to the good part of Vienna, and upon my first walk down that street, all I could think was ugh. But then I reached the cathedral of St. Stephen, and the ornate narrow windy streets, and all I could think of was Mozart. I fell for Vienna last night.

But this post is supposed to be about Prague. I guess I felt the same way about Prague. My very nice hotel was at the edge of the city centre, and my first views of the city were also less than impressive. The first place I discovered was their central mall, the Palladium, as I waited for my room to be ready so I could shower and wash the flight off of me. However, that evening I discovered the old town and fell in love.

In point form, here is what I did in Prague:

- Visited Charles Bridge both at night and during the day to enjoy its gothic statues.

- climbed up to the castle to enjoy the city view

- walked a lot and saw most of the city by foot

- went on a river cruise

- took a day trip to the town of Kutná Hora so I could see the "bone church"

- drank a lot of cheap beer

- got one of those fish pedicures where fish eat the dead skin off your feet

- attempted Czech cuisine but abandoned it and ate French food and Italian food

There's more and I have pictures, but it'll have to wait because I have some biking to do!

Frankfurt Layover

Well, I've made it to the EU. I am sitting in the Frankfurt airportwaiting for my connecting flight to Prague. It was a smooth flight over, and so far all of the airport hoops have been easy to jump through.

I have been feeling all of the feelings in the past 24 hrs. When I left Becca T at a Starbucks this afternoon, I got a little choked up. I had a great weeklong visit w her and I will miss her. The days when she lived a couple subway stops south of me seem like forever ago.

When I was waiting for my plane in TO, I felt sad because if my mom was healthy, I bet she and I would have traveled together sometimes, leaving my hermetic dad home with the cat.

I got choked up watching the movie "Labor Day" on the plane. It was a pretty good movie; I'd read the book earlier this year, and it was a decent adaptation.

I also was destroyed while reading "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" too. What a very nice little novel; I highly recommend it to all book lovers.

However, even though I've been feeling all of the feelings, I've feeling super excited as I look through my Prague travel guide. It looks like a beautiful city and I can't wait to see it in a couple of hours.

Halfway.

As I write this post, the clock just turned to August about 27 minutes ago.  That means that my summer, the time I sometimes think of as my "real life", when I can be myself free of most responsibilities, pressure, and deadlines, is half over. 

It's been a really chill July for me.  I don't think I've taken it this easy in several years.  I've tried not to over-extend myself socially as I tend to.  I love my friends and hanging out with people, but a day or two to myself is a luxury I love.  And I've had a few of those in July which has been good.

Right now I'm sitting half-drunk on my couch with Becca T, listening to a rather awesome playlist that I cooked up on my iPod, as she plays Plants v. Zombies on her iPad, and I write this on my laptop.  Our friends Jane and Elaine came over this evening, and we drank wine followed by cider, and ate cheese crackers and veggies.  When the crackers ran out, we started to put brie on celery, which is rather delicious who knew.

Yesterday I drove Rilo to my parents' house for safe-keeping while I'm in Europe.  She is always happy to be there, although she hate the car ride. This morning as I was getting ready to go, my dad was moving the cat carrier, and Rilo thought it meant that she was getting packed up, and she made a bee-line for my bedroom to hide under the bed.  It was hilarious.  As if I would go to all the trouble of packing a cat and her accessories for an overnight trip.

I drove back today through awful traffic.  Leaving Toronto is never all that bad, but coming back sure is.  I was frustrated when I got back, so I took Becca T for sushi, then to Starbucks for coffee, then I had a nap, and I felt better.

Tomorrow I have to get some last-minute stuff done before my trip.  It's list-making time, yay!

I took you for granted when you were all that I needed.

I'm listening to the new Jenny Lewis album right now.  It makes me want to go to California, 'cuz it's totally got a laid-back, sun-soaked vibe.  So far at least.  I'm still on listen #1 because I keep getting stuck on this song:



This song stood out to me when she played it at TURF.  I love it, and I think we've all felt this way before.  Becca T and I have had some deep conversations about how messed up Facebook is, and how it makes everyone's life look awesome and sparkly and perfect, and it can bring you down when you are looking at perfect pictures of other people when you are in an emo-mood sitting in your pjs wondering WTF.  Of course, I only post the shiniest, happiest photos online to make my life look perfect too.

Oh, the internet.  It's kind of like alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.

Today was a super fun day though.  The weather is unseasonably cool for July in Toronto, which is typically hot and humid.  Becca and I went for a run together, and then I took her to see Begin Again (#2 for me) since I knew she's love it, and I was down with seeing it again.  We did some light shopping, and then met up with Mathew for sushi, and then headed back to my place for an old tradition (circa 2009): watching The Bachelorette finale.  This season has been super boring, and I haven't been paying much attention, but it was fun all of the same laughing at the show.  However, then it got rather depressing watching someone getting his heart broken.  Then, during the After The Final Rose special, things got super awkward and all I have to say is that the sexual politics on that show are messed up (unsurprisingly). 

Admittedly, I was way more into the baseball game that we turned to during commercials.  Jays: 14.  Boston: 1.  Vengeance for about a week ago when that score was flipped.

I can't believe I leave for my Europe trip in less than a week.  Amazing.

There is no blues that could sound as heartfelt as mine...

AKA what I'm into these days, where #1 is...

1) Listening to Los Campesinos! loudly on vinyl as Rilo Kitty makes this face

For a cat named after an emo-ish band, she does not tolerate my emo moods with loud music.

2) This song by Sia from her album "1000 Form of Fear".  My favourite song is "Elastic Hear" because, sigh, it describes my life.  But good album overall.



3) Rainbow Rowell - She wrote the amazing YA book "Eleanor & Park" which *everyone* should read.  Male, female, old, young, whatever.  If you have a heart, you'll love this book.  I just read one of her adult novels, "Attachments", and it was warm and fuzzy, yet not lame, and made me feel happy.  Imma gonna read every one of her books.

4) Beer - I used to love wine, but these days, I prefer beer.  What the what?  Also, I was in the LC (I prefer Manitoba lexicon folks), and a lady was asking an employee to help her find Corona Light (what that exists?), and he said they didn't carry it.  Then, she said "okay, where are your light beers, you know, beers for women?" And in my eavesdropping head, I wanted to say "wha??  All of the beers are for women!  You are just looking for the subsection of beers for lightweights, which does not include me, who is a woman."  Ugh.  Everyday sexism.

5) Becca T is here!  It's a nice day when your BFF/roomie for five years is staying in your home like it is almost university and it takes a good ten-plus years off of your age, and you stay up gossiping about boys like you are 21 years old.  Good times.  And tomorrow we will shop and watch movies.  I want to take her to see "Begin Again" which I saw last week, but is the perfect movie to see with your music-loving BFF.

Watching.

I've been watching a lot of stuff this summer.  This is great.  I feel like I'm always behind on TV/movies, and although I still am, I'm glad that I'm getting some good screen time in.  I'm also making great use of Netflix.  I love Netflix, but there are entire months that go by during the school year when I watch nothing.  Here are some of the notable things I've been watching.

TV Shows1) OITNB - Last summer, I binge-watched season 1 of Orange Is The New Black in a weekend.  I was so excited for season 2, but restrained myself when it came out in June, while I still had a tonne of marking on my plate.  I knew that if I started while I had deadlines at work, it would end up with me being called to the principal's office for not having my report cards done.  And, I made the right choice.  Season 2 is amazing; I can't believe how the plot and characters were so much more enriched than season 1.  One day I think I watched about eight episodes at once because I realized that nothing was going to get done until I got through that show.

2) Dateline - Okay, I will admit it.  One of my new weird obsessions is Dateline NBC, and it's all because of my friend Mathew, who likes the show a lot.  Personally, I liked the SNL sketches with Bill Hader that parodied Keith Morrison's creepiness, and I started watching because my friend talked about the show all of the time, and I secretly really enjoy Keith Morrison's creepiness.  Anyway, I've used the summer to catch up on episodes of this show.

It's paid off I guess, because on Friday Mathew, some friends, and I went out for drinks after the Jays' game and we had a great conversation about murder, based upon Mathew's and my Dateline obsession.  It was hilarious.

And, this is the best parody of Keith's creepiness, done by himself.  This is really why I love Dateline.  This bit is one of the highlights of my summer.



3) The Mindy Project - I just started watching this show last night on Netflix and I love it!  I can't believe I didn't start earlier.  It's nice to find a comedy that you can related to.

4) The Bachelorette - I watch this damned show every season.  This season has been rather boring (it could be because I haven't been drinking whilst watching this year), but next week is the finale, and yes, I'm going to make a night of it.  I'm not taking any social appointments that evening.

Movies

1) Chef - I saw this on Saturday and it was a really nice movie.  Highly recommended to any foodies out there.



2) Begin Again - I wanted to see this movie on Saturday, but we went with Chef again, so I took myself to see it this afternoon, because afternoon movies are a great perk of being on vacation.  I LOVED IT.  It's written/directed by the same guy who made the movie Once, and it's an indie rock musical.  Both of the lead actors (Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo) are amazing, as are the songs.  So far this is my favourite movie of the summer.




3) An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story/The Central Park Five - These are two documentaries about innocent people convicted of crimes that they didn't commit.  Basically, they are like episodes of Dateline, without the added bonus of Keith Morrison.  Both docs are very well done, and will make you very angry at the legal system, and amazed at how strong and peaceful the people who were railroaded are.  It's so tragic that in each of these cases, there ended up additional more victims of crime mainly because law enforcement just wanted convictions, and not the truth.  Both are on Netflix.

Bonus Music Find:

I've been obsessively listening to the album Strange Desire by Bleachers.  It's great summer music.  It's even got guest vocals by Grimes and Yoko Ono (!) on a couple of tracks.  I highly recommend this album.

#100happydays

100 days ago, I began the #100happydays photo challenge over on my Instagram page.  I'm happy to say that this was my first successfully completed photo challenge.  (In 2013 I tried to do a photo-a-day challenge but I failed because some stuff in my personal life exploded, and I no longer felt like taking any photos for awhile.)

Anyhow, I'm super glad I attempted and completed this challenge.  The idea is simple: each day take a picture of something/someone/someplace that brings you joy.  Some days it was extremely easy to find that happy moment, like the first day of my challenge back on April 10th, when I saw The National at Massey Hall.

Or when I completed my Simpsons Lego set:

 

Or when I finished my first half marathon,

 

Or when I visited St. Louis:

Or when I made my dad take a selfie in our matching St. Louis bird-on-a-bat hats:

 

Or when I had beer at the AGO in front of a Monet during one of their first Thursday events with a pal:

Or when I Field Tripped with my pal Matt from Wpg:

Or when I ran into Ace at a Jays' game (I love that bird):

Or when I was a bridesmaid in my friend Wendy's wedding:

Or when I went to the Skydome on Canada Day and got to see an exciting baseball game and a big ol' flag:

 

Or when I TURFed with my friends Paul & Eric:

But what was almost more valuable than capturing these super obviously fun and happy moments in photos was finding a happy moment on those days when I wasn't feeling overly happy.  Those days were challenging.  But, I forced myself to look for something on those days that made me happy, even if it was just a song that I was listening to, a bowl of cherries, or Rilo making a funny face.  Or, even better, I would make myself go do something happy.

Like on parent-teacher interview day, which is always very long and exhausting, I was sure to treat myself to a cup of tea at the mall:

Or one day when I forced myself to go out for a run in cold weather, even though I just wanted to chill on my couch, and I felt so much better after the run:

Or one day when I treated myself to a beer and a really bad book on a patio to unwind from a long day of marking:

Today was day #100.  I went to a BBQ with some of my work friends' at my dear work spouse's house.  The company, food, and laughter were all fantastic and heart-warming.  To capture the day, I took a photo of the My Little Pony paper plate that I was given to eat my food on.  I loved it, and started to laugh really hard when I got it, and decided that the silly plate captured the mood of the evening perfectly, because friendship is magic.   (Bahaha, if you've seen the new My Little Pony series, which is called My Little Pony Friendship is Magic you would have laughed at my joke there, I'm sure.  But you would have only gotten that if you hang out with five-year olds a lot, or are a bronie.)
 

I leave this challenge feeling immensely grateful for my life: I am lucky enough to have friends, family, and a job that bring me joy.  I get to travel, go to concerts, baseballs games, run races, collect Lego and records, and have an eccentric cat friend.  I have so much to appreciate, and even on days when I'm not feeling appreciative, I have the means to go do something about it.  It's so important for everyone to recognize the happy in their lives, and I'm glad that this photo challenge made me do it.  I might not photograph it, but I want to be sure I end end each day reflecting on the good and happy moments in my life and being thankful for them.