It's felt like spring these past few days. There's been a fair amount of rain and gray days, but the snow is gone. So is Troy, Shannon's oldest brother. Sunday evening we sent him on his way to the UK for about a year. The beauty of having a dual citizenship I suppose. But it was a good weekend and a chance to relax before the beginning of finals. They are fast approaching. My adventure here in the True North is about to come to a close. I'm not ready for it, so I plan to savour my last few weeks.
Friday I went out with Shannon, Troy and two girls from my program, Tess and Marilia to see this band Sebadoh at Lee's Palace, a dingy club/bar where you see smaller bands play. Flogging Molly was going to play there, but sold so many tickets they had to up to a bigger venue. I'd never heard them before, but some of their songs were definitely good and I would listen to them again. I'm not sure how I felt about the state of my knees and sweating profusely. We finished the night out at a Mexican bar. It was a dive and the beer was awful--but the nachos were good.
Saturday was a sleep in day, with great Thai food at Spring Rolls for dinner. And then we went to see the movie Reign Over Me. I think I laughed when I shouldn't have, but some of it was extremely funny. I thought Adam Sandler was great though and sometimes he just can't help but be funny. It was very good though on another level than just comedy. Troy said it was the funniest movie Adam Sandler has ever done. Tough to call since he also did great movies like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. The evening of course ended with Hemingways and some long island iced teas.
Sunday started late--I really love sleeping in. But basically ended with a trip to the airport and a sad goodbye. Three months has gone time too fast. It hit me that soon Shannon will be leaving and I will too. I started to get very nervous in the airport and I'm not even leaving yet! It's going to take a lot of work before I'm able to step on a plane, but I'm going to have to, sooner or later.
It's back to the school week and a lot to do before Kat comes to visit this weekend. I'm extremely excited, but swamped with work at the moment. But, it's a relief to have the class part of the semester almost over with. Now there will be time to explore the city in springtime. I look forward to leaves again.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Birthdays, Ottawa and Raccoons on roofs
As always, life takes the momentum out of blogging. Interesting things happen and I don't have the time to share them. Nothing happens and I find myself looking for almost anything to write about.
Spring has begun, but it still feels like winter in Toronto. The only difference is that the snow has left us. But I can still smell late fall in the air. I'm hoping for spring. Birds have started chirping and I keep dreaming about crocus popping up through the muddy dirt.
March 6th was Shannon's birthday. It was my turn to plan and pay and celebrate. Most of his gifts were not completed. They are still not completed, but hopefully I can send him off to Australia with them. I took him to Piccolo's on Carlton for his birthday. It was this great little Italian restaurant. We drank red wine, ate salty cheese and had some fabulous pesto-covered gnocchi. I treated him to a private dessert of mini cheesecakes and iced wine. He had a good evening, so I achieved success and had great food. You can't go wrong with great food.
March 8th and 9th I found myself whisked away to the nation's capital of Ottawa. If it possible, which is most definitely is, Ottawa was far colder than Toronto. I mean 9th level of Dante's hell colder. What a beautiful city, but the beauty is lost when you can't feel your fingers after the first five minutes. I was happy to be able to retreat to the glass interior of the National Gallery of Art.
There, we were taken to see the photographic treasures of the NGA. I remember the images perfectly. I walked in there and I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped suddenly to the floor. There was Talbot and Negre's very famous "3 Chimney Sweeps" laid out there. I saw Diane Arbus, Frank, Winograd, Walker Evans, Frederick Evans (SIGNED!), Siskgand, Weston, Bourke-White (with heaps of "silvering out" going on), Lisette Model, Strand, Mr. Ansel Adams and a Larry Clark photography from his "Tulsa" series. I may or may not of wet myself a little. It was incredibly exciting. To top off the evening, we were given free tickets to the gallery and since walking around Ottawa was not an option, this was perfect.
Apparently, the canal in Ottawa is the longest outdoor ice skating rink. However, I wonder if people ever skate on it. When I took pictures of it, I think I saw one crazy person on it. I am sure that after that, they suffered hypothermia. I know I was, my little nubs could barely press the button on the camera.
Parliament Hill was also beautiful at night, although my hands were shaking so bad, none of the photographs came out. I pretty much ran the rest of the way home. The rest of the evening was spent in bed watching terrible documentaries on the Discovery channel. I think we would have gone out, but getting up at 5:30am sort of kills the party factor. We did get to see Byward Market, but in winter, it doesn't look very busy. However, it looks like a great place to go in the summer, outdoor stores, vendors, cafes and the famous Beavertail stand, which I braved the cold to have one. They are sweet treats a bit like fried dough, but they are shaped like beaver tails. If you're in Ottawa, search out the stand at Byward Market.
Day 2 of the program's Ottawa trip didn't start until 7:30am, but I skipped breakfast for more sleep and a long shower. We headed to the Gatineau Preservation Centre just over the Quebec border. I'll save the trip for another time, when you really feel like reading about the temperature and relative humidity of vaults and about book conservation. It really is quite fascinating. You've seen those doors before, but you never get to see what's behind the vaults. and now, you can. A secret revealed.
I've been back for a while now and life is starting to get hectic with final projects looming ahead and Kat's visit back to the True North. Spring better be here by then. Or at least it better be breathing down Winter's neck to take a hike. I was doing my laundry at the laundry mat the other day. When I looked up and out the window, I saw a fat little raccoon lumbering across the roof of a slightly disheveled house. It scrambled over--in broad daylight--to the dormer in the roof and climbed into a crack between the roof and the window. After watching for a while, I saw two. I must have watched them for almost 30 minutes and not one did I see a single person look up to see these two raccoons climbing around the roof. And climbing in it for that matter.
It makes you wonder, do people notice anything? Do those people know they have a raccoon family in their roof? I should hope so.
You know, with all the work I have to do, I have still managed to read five books in the past month. Five books, not all of them contemporary.
Spring has begun, but it still feels like winter in Toronto. The only difference is that the snow has left us. But I can still smell late fall in the air. I'm hoping for spring. Birds have started chirping and I keep dreaming about crocus popping up through the muddy dirt.
March 6th was Shannon's birthday. It was my turn to plan and pay and celebrate. Most of his gifts were not completed. They are still not completed, but hopefully I can send him off to Australia with them. I took him to Piccolo's on Carlton for his birthday. It was this great little Italian restaurant. We drank red wine, ate salty cheese and had some fabulous pesto-covered gnocchi. I treated him to a private dessert of mini cheesecakes and iced wine. He had a good evening, so I achieved success and had great food. You can't go wrong with great food.
March 8th and 9th I found myself whisked away to the nation's capital of Ottawa. If it possible, which is most definitely is, Ottawa was far colder than Toronto. I mean 9th level of Dante's hell colder. What a beautiful city, but the beauty is lost when you can't feel your fingers after the first five minutes. I was happy to be able to retreat to the glass interior of the National Gallery of Art.
There, we were taken to see the photographic treasures of the NGA. I remember the images perfectly. I walked in there and I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped suddenly to the floor. There was Talbot and Negre's very famous "3 Chimney Sweeps" laid out there. I saw Diane Arbus, Frank, Winograd, Walker Evans, Frederick Evans (SIGNED!), Siskgand, Weston, Bourke-White (with heaps of "silvering out" going on), Lisette Model, Strand, Mr. Ansel Adams and a Larry Clark photography from his "Tulsa" series. I may or may not of wet myself a little. It was incredibly exciting. To top off the evening, we were given free tickets to the gallery and since walking around Ottawa was not an option, this was perfect.
Apparently, the canal in Ottawa is the longest outdoor ice skating rink. However, I wonder if people ever skate on it. When I took pictures of it, I think I saw one crazy person on it. I am sure that after that, they suffered hypothermia. I know I was, my little nubs could barely press the button on the camera.
Parliament Hill was also beautiful at night, although my hands were shaking so bad, none of the photographs came out. I pretty much ran the rest of the way home. The rest of the evening was spent in bed watching terrible documentaries on the Discovery channel. I think we would have gone out, but getting up at 5:30am sort of kills the party factor. We did get to see Byward Market, but in winter, it doesn't look very busy. However, it looks like a great place to go in the summer, outdoor stores, vendors, cafes and the famous Beavertail stand, which I braved the cold to have one. They are sweet treats a bit like fried dough, but they are shaped like beaver tails. If you're in Ottawa, search out the stand at Byward Market.
Day 2 of the program's Ottawa trip didn't start until 7:30am, but I skipped breakfast for more sleep and a long shower. We headed to the Gatineau Preservation Centre just over the Quebec border. I'll save the trip for another time, when you really feel like reading about the temperature and relative humidity of vaults and about book conservation. It really is quite fascinating. You've seen those doors before, but you never get to see what's behind the vaults. and now, you can. A secret revealed.I've been back for a while now and life is starting to get hectic with final projects looming ahead and Kat's visit back to the True North. Spring better be here by then. Or at least it better be breathing down Winter's neck to take a hike. I was doing my laundry at the laundry mat the other day. When I looked up and out the window, I saw a fat little raccoon lumbering across the roof of a slightly disheveled house. It scrambled over--in broad daylight--to the dormer in the roof and climbed into a crack between the roof and the window. After watching for a while, I saw two. I must have watched them for almost 30 minutes and not one did I see a single person look up to see these two raccoons climbing around the roof. And climbing in it for that matter.
It makes you wonder, do people notice anything? Do those people know they have a raccoon family in their roof? I should hope so.
You know, with all the work I have to do, I have still managed to read five books in the past month. Five books, not all of them contemporary.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Mother Nature Called.
Thursday my old friend, Jenny, drove up from Rochester, NY to spend a day in the wonderful culturally-diverse Toronto. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had a different idea in store for her and for myself. Dumping heaps of snow on the city in a matter of hours, leaving every road imaginable blocked--and the view from my window nothing but a view of white flurries (check out the slideshow at the bottom of this site). It turned a three hour drive into a six hour one. Navigating the city took an hour--normally, the drive is about 10 minutes. After the snow had had it's fill, icy rain set in, turning the city into one wet pond.
Needless to say, I spent Friday morning clomping around in wet boots, trying to avoid deep puddles. It did not work. Unfortunately, the inclement weather that hit Toronto and parts of the Eastern US, including Alabama, ruined the plans for a night at Hemingways. Instead, we stayed in and played Dance Dance Revolution and drank beer and mixed drinks. It was not quite the show of Toronto I wanted to give, but sometimes weather wins out.
Friday night, Shannon and I went to the Bloor Cinema near his building and caught a film that was part of the Si-Si Cine Toronto Latin Film Festival. We saw the film "En la ciudad sin limites." It was about a dying father and his connection to the communist party in both Spain and Paris 40 years ago and his estranged male lover. That's perhaps a terrible description of a very beautiful and sad film. But, the end was very touching and the letter the dying man (Max) writes to his lover (Rancel) is very poignant. You also find out how the wife betrayed Rancel so he would be arrested and imprisoned so she would be free to marry Max. If you ever have the opportunity to see the movie, I suggest you go for it.
Today, has been a quieter day, mingled with coffee and reading. I intended to spend the rest of the weekend in much the same fashion. I am in no hurry this weekend to live life in any fast lane, but enjoy things at a slower pace while my life permits it. Meanwhile, the snow is almost gone again and the bars are starting to fill up.
Just another night under city lights.
Needless to say, I spent Friday morning clomping around in wet boots, trying to avoid deep puddles. It did not work. Unfortunately, the inclement weather that hit Toronto and parts of the Eastern US, including Alabama, ruined the plans for a night at Hemingways. Instead, we stayed in and played Dance Dance Revolution and drank beer and mixed drinks. It was not quite the show of Toronto I wanted to give, but sometimes weather wins out.
Friday night, Shannon and I went to the Bloor Cinema near his building and caught a film that was part of the Si-Si Cine Toronto Latin Film Festival. We saw the film "En la ciudad sin limites." It was about a dying father and his connection to the communist party in both Spain and Paris 40 years ago and his estranged male lover. That's perhaps a terrible description of a very beautiful and sad film. But, the end was very touching and the letter the dying man (Max) writes to his lover (Rancel) is very poignant. You also find out how the wife betrayed Rancel so he would be arrested and imprisoned so she would be free to marry Max. If you ever have the opportunity to see the movie, I suggest you go for it.
Today, has been a quieter day, mingled with coffee and reading. I intended to spend the rest of the weekend in much the same fashion. I am in no hurry this weekend to live life in any fast lane, but enjoy things at a slower pace while my life permits it. Meanwhile, the snow is almost gone again and the bars are starting to fill up.
Just another night under city lights.
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