stop. start.

So motivational. (clipped to polyvore.com)
i like how this can be read vertically or horizontally.  i guess that's the idea. 

i know i go on about the little things, but what would life be without them?  for example: i was walking down dundas, and a man was walking toward me.  he appeared to veer to my right so i veered to his right (my left).  at the same moment he veered to my left and i looked up at him with a growl rumbling inside of me but he was laughing because of our mix up.  i laughed too.  i should have laughed to begin with but i guess i was feeling a bit jaded. 

it's funny, riding the subway during rush hour can be draining (oh i know i go on about this too, but it's a day to day thing for me - so i think about it a lot).  it's interesting to think about.  all these people with the same goal, fighting each other to get there first.  i think if everyone just took a step back and realized we're all trying to get somewhere it would improve the general theme of rage and (mild) violence i see on a daily basis.  i'm guilty of it sometimes too.  you get pushed around enough and you start to lose your patience.  just like i almost lost my patience with the guy on the sidewalk.  there are two things that help me check myself before i wreck myself. 1: when i see people confront one another, i am reminded of how petty the situations i face really are. 2: when i'm victim of someone in a hurry, i am reminded that passing people agressively can be dangerous and frustrating to them.  for example: a girl was trying to pass me after i finished buying my metropass. just as i was about to leave she tried to pass me but i was already going through the spinny thing so there was no room for her.  as i walked toward the stairs she stepped on the back of my shoe before passing me and i turned around and said take it easy.  so, i take my own advice sometimes.

meow

this is not an ad for grolsch, although it might look like one...

you might remember the ever handsome oscar (below) from a january post.  this cat never ceases to amaze me.  pete showed us the picture below on friday night, and my mind exploded.  before he showed the picture pete was describing his night and said (something to the effect of) "i was feeling kind of cool already . . . and then this happened" and for dramatic effect he slowly turned the phone around to reveal the photo.  i was sitting there wondering . . . what could have happened?  what could it be?  and like i said, it blew me away.  we also concluded that oscar sees pete as a tiger so he was looking at the screen thinking it's my dad!

oscar

s j watson

i had the privilege and the pleasure of attending a reading recently, at the toronto harbourfront centre.

there were two talented authors: robert rotenberg & s j watson.  as you may have already surmised, they read passages from their novels.

what brought me to this particular event was the fact that s j watson (otherwise known as steve) is mike's second cousin.  i was told that he attended mike's parents' wedding at the age of 5(ish) and lives in england.  his first novel before i go to sleep is about a woman who, after a terrible accident, lost her ability to form new memories.  ridley scott has picked it up and the filming is scheduled to start this year.  it has been a huge success and i am very much looking forward to reading it.

being that i'm interested in reading and writing i was surprised that i had never thought of attending an event like this before.  both author's came from different backgrounds.  robert is a criminal lawyer who continues to practice but wakes up at 5am everyday to write before work.  steve has a degree in physics and has spent most of his career working with the hearing impaired.  during the question period they both spoke about taking writing workshops that kick started, and inspired them to pursue their dreams of becoming an author.

on a slightly more humorous note, as i was waiting for the bus yesterday a man yelled whore out his window.  i can only assume it was directed at me because there was no one else on the street.  i didn't get a good look at him, maybe he was on the phone . . . ?  either way, it wasn't like i was wearing a mini skirt and fishnet stockings (accurate stereotype according to the movies, right?) so i laughed it off.  oh the joys of living in the city.

8tracks

8tracks is a website jay showed me.  it's awesome.

you can create play lists and also listen to other people's.  8tracks is an easy way to find new artists who are similar to the ones you already like.  it's a quick fix for when you're sick of your own play lists.  you can search by genre or artist or just select at random.

i've created an account, so far i've made one play list but i hope to make lots more.  it takes a while to upload and so it's a bit time consuming but definitely worth it.  mike has also opened up an account but has yet to make a play list.

how many times can i use the words play list in one post?

little things

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were big things.
-Kurt Vonnegut

aloe

my mom gave me this aloe plant when i first moved into my junction home.  he was a lot smaller then.  and has grown and grown with very little effort or care on my part . . .

i remember the first time i made the connection between the aloe listed on the ingredients of a moisturizer and the plant itself.  it was at angela's grandparents house in 2005 after we had gotten a bit too much sun.  ang went over to the plant and cut off one of the leaves, sliced it open and started to soothe her skin with the aloe goo.  this was new to me, is it safe? i asked... ang laughed, of course it's safe.  oh! okay! 

and i haven't had to buy the neon green gel since.

the end.

bike ride

for father's day, my dad and i pushed ourselves to our physical limits.  we went on what is by our standards, an epic bike ride.  riding close to, if not more than 40 kilometers with only a couple short breaks. 

our first destination was downtown hamilton.  we were going to stop for coffee but since i'd already had two that morning i decided to pass and we continued on to hess village for a beer . . . unfortunately we were ahead of schedule and none of my dad's favourite spots were open yet. 

our next stop was a to visit the statue of queen victoria, located on the western part of gore park.  click the links to read about a bit of hamilton history ... although a better option would be to talk to my dad who is a fountain of knowledge. 

we rode through nicer neighbourhoods and rougher ones. . .  we saw expensive and well kept houses and some that were completely run down.  the city is diverse and spread out.  there was interesting architecture and old buildings that were beautiful to look at.   hamilton has a lot more history than i had imagined.  if i wasn't delirious from exhaustion i could tell you all about it.

happy father's day dad, thanks for a great day!

photos of the weekend to follow . . .

where i went

via

after doing very little research i have determined that douglas adams and calvin and hobbes have nothing in common except this image that someone put together.  that may or may not be true but either way, i love the quote and calvin and hobbes were two of my good friends growing up so that makes me love it a little more.

yelp comeback

i quit yelping for a bit.  i quit going out for drinks and dinner too.  okay, you caught me...  i didn't quit altogether but i definitely cut back.  

but yelp didn't give up on me.  it sent me messages and awards and all kinds of things.  okay - not awards, but they featured quotes from two of my reviews, and another ROTD (that's review of the day in yelp speak). so as you might have guessed it's really good for my ego.

if you're wondering what the heck is yelp, you should check it out.  it's a good resource to find just about anything just about anywhere and their slogan is real people. real reviews, so i think you get the gist.  it's also a good motivator to try new places, and in a city as diverse as toronto it would be a shame not to.

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here is a picture of the cilantro pesto i made the other day.  i know pesto is usually made with basil, but i was feeling adventurous... and i had a bunch of cilantro to use up:

lemon face

my mom used to tell me, if you make that face long enough your face will stay that way.  well, she's right.

i'm often reminded of this expression when i see people who appear to have a permanent frown on their face. it makes me wonder if maybe they've had a lot of struggles.  i often see these people on the ttc.  and i promptly tighten up my face muscles because no matter what happens i don't want to be walking around looking like i'm sucking on a lemon.

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but on a more important note, the lovely and talented jessa made me a little pet.  his name is fred.

fred is a snail

jessa is creative in a lot of ways.  she has a sense of humour that sneaks up on you when you least expect it. she created fred out of piece of binding coil that crossed her.  i'm pretty sure i wouldn't want to cross her.

oh

it has been tough to blog lately.

i think a lot during the day.  i observe people and situations, and sometimes things in nature.  often i think about how i will write about it when i get home.  i phrase it and rephrase it in my head.

i listen to the radio in the morning.  i like to hear the news, and see if i missed anything while i was sleeping. i wait for the bus, listen to music, sometimes a podcast.  i often wish there was a newspaper box near the bus stop.  then i would skim the 24 or the metro on my way to work, to see if i missed anything on the radio. without a paper my options are to read a book, zone out or play a game on an electronic handheld device.  sometimes i'm pressed up against someone on the ttc and that's about all i can do.  when i get off the subway a lady hands me a paper and says "thank you have a good day" over and over and over again.  i can hear her as i walk up the steps and as i walk away.

work is work.  i work with nice people.  we listen to music while we work.  it's the only area in the office that has a music playing device, specifically a bose dock.  sometimes we talk about news, celebrity news, books and music.  today i was telling stephanie how i've been having a tough time with blogging.  she asked me a question that helped me realize part of what has been holding me back. it was something to the effect of "because you know people are reading it?"  don't get me wrong, i'm happy when people read it, but it does create a bit of pressure on something that was meant to relieve it.  well, that and i've just been a bit lazy.

then i leave work.  sometimes i leave with a co-worker, share some laughs and stories about the day.  sometimes i leave with my headphones on.  i complete (well not always complete) the crossword in the 24.  i go over a list of things i need to do, and things i don't want to forget, sometimes i write that stuff down.  and sometimes all i can do is focus on not falling over on the subway.

it seems that my thoughts revolve around people, the weather, information and entertainment.  lately the weather hasn't been great and i haven't been doing much reading or reading the paper.  maybe i'm uninspired.

days run into days and turn into weeks and months, inspiring moments happen.  when i'm touched by something i think about how i would write about it and i tuck it away.  eventually the memories pile up up and i don't know where to start.  i am grateful to have a lot of refreshing experiences, and occasionally some sour ones.  there is always something new to learn and life is good and life is interesting and i have a lot to say about it.

here is a picture of the beautiful vintage guitar mike surprised me with yesterday:

thanks mike 

here is a picture i took, enthusiastically hoping the massive pile of garbage meant that my obnoxious and somewhat frightening downstairs neighbours were moving out:

i was wrong, they're still here

here is what it looks like when you knock over a jar of buttons... why i collect buttons and don't keep a lid on the jar is one of the great mysteries of the universe.

this was fun to clean up

i see a lot of birds from my apartment window.  lately there have been two cardinals, one is primarily grey and the other is primarily red splashing around in "the junction lake" . . .i have yet to capture them on camera, but this is where they hang out:

and lastly, i stayed at a cottage this weekend.  highlights include: great people, a grand piano, trying elk, bison and wild boar meats, driving a silverado and winning a pool tournament.

altercation

as per your request verlaan...  a new tale from the ttc...

monday morning i witnessed an altercation on the subway.  as i was boarding i could see a man in his 30s (let's call him john) stand up, swear and yell in the face of a 70 year old man (let's call him bob).  i didn't see what happened leading up to this event, but for 7 long stops they continued to argue.  one thing was obvious: john was a bully, a hot head, and a little out of touch with reality.  from what i understood john was taking up two seats (which he was), and bob had asked him to free up one of the seats.  john appeared to have a problem with the way bob had approached him, and thought it was reasonable to take up two seats because of his height... and that it was appropriate to lose his shit... on an old man... during rush hour... on a monday morning.  it was a disturbing experience for everyone on that particular car.  a couple people tried to intervene and stood up for bob... which only made john more angry.  unfortunately neither of them had the strength to walk away. finally another man came toward john saying: you have no respect, you can't talk to people like that.. and continued to call him out.  john wasn't able to defend himself to someone equally as assertive and aggressive as himself.

and on a semi related topic, here is a ridiculously cute video of a puppy and a kitten fighting: