Decision Made!

Sweet Baby Moses!

It's bloody tough trying to find a destination that
a) you can get to within your budget
b) you can see a lot/all of in a week
c) has friends/family to crash with
d) is not more than a 24 hr journey away!

Anyway, after much tremulcous decision making, I settled on San Fransisco for the week of Nov 24 to Dec 2.

It's actually one of the places on my (very long) MUST VISIT list, so I'll feel a sense of accomplishment when I go there. Also, my cousin-in-law is currently there on a 3 month work assignment and I thought it would be nice to see him again. The last time we met it involved lots of laughs and copious amounts of beer - and I'm really hoping for a repeat!

So now, if any of my gentle readers have been to 'Frisco before, do share your tips on the city, things to do, places to go and good bars/pub to check out - and be checked out at.*



*appaling grammar I know - but sometimes one just HAS to break a few rules to truly express how one is feeling!

Decisions... Decisions.....

So, I just found out today that I have 8.5 vacation days to be used up by the end of this year. We're not allowed to "roll over" days - so I must take them, or I loose out.

OF COURSE I want to take time off..... but WHERE shall I go?

Suggestions most welcome!

************************************************

ok, so everyone has ideas - I should specify!

1. Somewhere that I can get to (and back) within $700 (taxes incl.)

2. Someplace I have NOT been to before (NYC out - sorry PP, but lovely suggestion!)

3. Someplace where I can see something new, do something new or meet new people (like fellow bloggers). I have plenty of time to relax when I'm dead. As for reading - I do that anyway... all the time. (;p CG)

4. It doesn't have to be a "sunny" location - I recognize that half the world is currently moving into Winter!

5. It has to be 1 week at the most - so pref not places on the far side of the globe!

Call off the hounds... She's alive!

The last few weeks have gone something like this:

work, work, meetings, work, planning meetings, attending meeting, work, work, sleep, work, crisis, crisis, work, work, meeting to plan to avert further crisis, work, work, dream of sleep, work, sleep, dream of work, work...... rinse and repeat.

Suffice to say that although there have been several blog worthy happenings - I haven't had the time to get online and actually blog about 'em!

• Nuit Blanche, Toronto September 29th: Art, Art and more Art all over downtown Toronto. In the streets, down alleyways, in churches and shops and galleries - even on the pavements. A great concept, but somehow it got lost among all of the Corporate Branding and Merchandising of the event. I saw more ScotiaBank booths and banners than I did art exhibits! Still, it was a very enjoyable night and we did get to party (and drink) till 4 am thanks to a "one night only" extended hours at bars.

• Last Blue Jays game of the 07 season, September 30th: Took my 3 little cousins out - 8, 10 and 11 yrs. Sat wayyyyy up high in the 500 level and my constant worry was that one of them was going to fall over the edge and land *splat* on Home Plate! Ate hotdogs and pizza and drank icies that made all our tongues go blue and yelled and screamed and cheered our way onto the Videoboard during the game! Cousin Pixy was declared "way cool cousin" and she nows basks in the glory of her new title - until someone else takes them out and shows them a good time. *sigh* Children and Cats - SO fickle!

• October 7th, Thanksgiving at our house: 32 guests - 30 of who we were directly related to! Dinner menu: Roast Turkey, Stuffing with gravey, Potatoes and Carrots, Chicken Xacuti Curry, Sweet n Spicy Ribs, BBQed Shrimp, Rice, Spicy Pumpkin, 7 layered salad, corn salad and buns!

• October 8th: Food hangover!

• Friday, October 19th; Overheard on Dundas Steetcar:

"I'm so glad I'm out of there - my day was crazy"
"Yeah, I hear you. Mine too. Don't get me wrong - I f*cked around and did nothing. But it was crazy"

• The T Dot is currently experiencing higher than usual temperatures. This weekend has been HOT! Great for late October - but somehow I feel like we'll pay for this in Feb with a whole week of -30 or something equally insane!

• I am currently stressing over the fact that it is T minus 5 days and counting to Lady Killer's Halloween party and I'm still sans a costume. I don't even have the foggiest IDEA of a costume. Help and Inspiration for the same will be much welcomed coz guests who show up in no costume or shoddy costumes will be dressed by the Host - and that will guarantee humiliation of sorts!

Fall Lineup

All the TV stations are doing it, so why not one for me too??

After a relatively easy breezy summer, it’s back to a full week’s schedule for the Pixy Princess. I’m trying for a nice balance of activities that will help me exercise both mind and body in turn! Acknowledge that much more bodily exercise is needed, but we’re going to start small – for now!

Confirmed:

1. Wednesday 8pm – 9pm; September 19 to November 21
Dancing – Latin/Ballroom Level 1
Eastminster United Church @ Danforth/Chester.
Class 1 was a bit stiff and stilted – but putting that down to nervousness on part of everyone. Class 2 was sadly missed due to Chaos at the Career Fair (detailed post to follow)
Dances I will be learning – Cha cha cha, Samba, Foxtrot, Waltz and Tango.

2. Mondays and Wednesdays 5:20 pm – 7:20 pm; November 5 to December 12
French Classes
Alliance Française de Toronto, Bloor/Spadina
Desperately need to brush up on my French speaking skills as I need to be able to have a half decent conversation with my clients in Quebec! Thankfully classes are tax deductible or else I’d be in the poorhouse!

Proposed:

1. Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-7 pm
Hot Pilates
Tula Spa and Studios, Duncan/Adelaide
6 months and counting till I will have to sashay down a Church aisle as Maid of Honor at Very Best Friend’s wedding. Absolutely cannot be tub of lard. Must loose desired 10 lbs. No Compromise. No Excuses. Now is the Hour!

Will be checking out their classes next Tuesday. Really really hope it works out as I cannot see myself running on a treadmill at the gym! Get ready for a new-and-improved version of the Pixy Princess to hit the streets this season!

A post for lovers – book lovers that is!

Next Sunday, I will be moseying down to Queen’s Park to check out the annual Word on the Street book event. I read about this event on Lotus’ site and have been eagerly awaiting said date all summer! For one day only, the lawns of the stately Ontario Legislature will be transformed into a book lover’s paradise showcasing the best of Canadian authors, poets, storytellers and performers. The day’s program includes book readings by Giller Prize winners and nominees, writing workshops, children’s story tent, live musical acts and much much more. If you’re a book lover and you’ll be in Toronto – you must go!

There is the dire need for some creative planning though as I’d already promised my 3 little cousins I’d take them to the final baseball game of the season, and one simply cannot break plans with one’s littlest relatives! Fortunately 2/3 are avid book lovers so could possibly drag them along with me. The 3rd could always be bribed with food and candy!

So, in honour of this upcoming book event, here’s a book related meme – “borrowed” from Beastie – with some additions of my own.

Total number of books owned
400+ and counting! (Spent my entire lunch hour today making a list, but I need to go home and do a recount – can’t trust my memory on this one!)

Side bar story: When we moved to Canada, my mother handed me 2 packing boxes for my books and said, “What fits in here, we take”
I ranted and raved, but she would not relent.
So I took to stowing away books in other boxes meant for silly things like clothes and shoes and such mundane stuff. I even managed to squeeze a few books in with the good china! Still, I ended up leaving a large part of my collection behind and I get teary eyed every time I think about all those books I had since I was a wee little lass. (Oh dear, welling up now….)

Last book bought
I am What I Ate…. And I’m frightened – Bill Cosby.
Also own Fatherhood by same author. Owned Childhood as well, but someone borrowed it and never gave it back. I hope that the fiend later developed a scaly rash in a hard to itch region.

Last book read
I Capture the Castle – Dodie Smith
By the same author who gave us the funny, touching and amazing story of 101 Dalmatians, I found myself unable to put down the story of a little girl on her way to becoming a woman – against all odds and in spite of her very odd family!

First book read
Although I cannot be absolutely sure of this, my mum thinks that it was a Sesame Street Counting book when I was 4 years young. One thing she IS sure of is that I chanted the rhymes in the book over and over till she could have willingly sold me to the first passing gypsy.

5 Books I re read most often
1. The entire “Anne of Green Gables” series (I can quote whole paragraphs!)
2. The Scarlett Pimpernel
3. Little Women
4. The Hobbit
5. Pride and Prejudice

5 Famous books I have never read
1. Green Eggs and Ham
2. The English Patient
3. The Colour Purple
4. Vanity Fair
5. Anna Karenina

5 books that mean a lot to me
Oh dear – this is the hard part. I simply cannot narrow it down to a mere 5 as I’m completely in love with so many of my books and their fascinating, amazing, complex, wonderful characters. Still, I’ve done my best and here goes:

1. Anne of Green Gables – laugh out loud and never stop dreaming.
2. Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood – everyone’s family is just as screwed up as mine – or even more!
3. Pride and Prejudice – believe in love, even if it comes in the guide of a seemingly pompous, self righteous ass!
4. Such a Long Journey – there is a season for everything; nothing lasts forever – even suffering and pain.
5. Atonement – for every action there is an equal, opposite and sometimes devastating reaction.

The Inevitable

The train burst out of the tunnel and onto the bridge. The sardine packed commuters seemed to relax, as if there was suddenly more air and more space around them. I tried to look out of the windows, but the crowd was too dense, too stiff.

Someone shifted, and suddenly I could see out. And there IT was.

Among the trees that lined the side of the Don River valley, one stood out. Red flaming leaves visible among a sea of greens.

There was no denying it any longer. Fall has arrived.

To Pee or Not to Pee – Part Deux

On my recent travels, my washroom visits ran the gamut from hole-in-the-ground to sparkly chrome-like sinks with posh washroom attendants in crisp uniforms! I’ll have to admit that one of the cleanest, nicest public washrooms was ironically a rest stop in India on the highway between Bombay and Hyderabad! But nothing compared to the toilet at the youth hostel I stayed at in Kyoto, Japan. I entered the toilet and found myself facing something that looked like the Captain’s Chair from the Starship Enterprise. There were side panels filled with all sorts of little buttons and big buttons and one rather large an ominous looking red one. I had used other Japanese washrooms that had heated seats and others that were decorated with Pokemon and Digimon characters, but this was something altogether different.

I sat down nervously. As soon as my butt hit the seat, the toilet began to play music! A nice little Japanese melody rang out in what I could only assume was an attempt to mask any unwelcome bowel noises that might occur during the process. Actually, a very useful invention!

Feeling a bit adventurous, I jabbed at one of the buttons that had a picture that looked like a fountain on it. An icy jet of water shot out into my girly bits and I couldn’t but help let out a gasp of surprise, which if anyone was listening would have sounded like I having a bit too much in there! It was then that I noticed a button indicating a temperature and guessing that was for the water, I upped it a bit and the water temperature went up. Ah, MUCH better!

Feeling a bit more adventurous, I jabbed at a couple other buttons and had jets of water steam out from all angles at me. In a panic tried to stop the water, but the more buttons I pushed, the more things happened including the music going louder, the auto flush was activated and the jet sprays went totally berserk. I was too afraid to get up for fear of the water spraying everywhere and by now was convinced that the entire Hostel was probably standing outside the toilet door wondering just WHAT I was experimenting with in there!

Just when I thought I’d have to sit on that potty seat for all eternity, I spied the big red button again. By this point, I had nothing to loose. Either it would either stop everything or catapult me through the door like a punch out seat in a fighter jet – either way I would be off the potty!

Thankfully, it was the former!

I cautiously stuck my head out of the toilet door. There was one dude brushing his teeth at the sink. Studiously avoiding eye contact, I muttered “g’mornin” and headed to the door with as much dignity as a soggy-bum, red-faced, morning-haired girl could muster. I was almost out, when he turned to me and gave me a smile – “Happened to me yesterday,” he said. “At least, you didn’t have to call through the door for help”

Feeling like I was the Queen Bee of Techno-Savvy Potties, I bestowed my most beaming smile on him and waltzed out with my head held high – and toilet paper trailing from under my shoe.

To Pee or Not to Pee

It is a well known fact that technology and I are only the remotest of friends. I have no clue how to operate an Ipod, occassionally have problems with my microwave and having to use more than 2 remotes to turn on the TV is a major stressor! The very fact that I’m able to keep this blog up and running is in my opinion nothing short of a bloody miracle! Of late I find that technology is advancing so quick that too many ordinary things are being affected. It’s as if techno geeks aren’t satisfied with making appliances faster, phones smaller and computers just short of having independent thinking that they now have to turn to everyday objects to try and “upgrade” those as well.

Take toilets for example. The very fact that they flush and all the poopy stuff is sucked away and you never have to see it again is itself a wonder of modern innovation. Of course the fact that little has changed with the design and working of a toilet was reason enough for folks to go tinkering around and make all sorts of “adjustments”.

Like the new “auto flush” toilets that you find in most public washrooms. They’re set to flush after you’re finished, but sometimes they have a mind of their own and randomly go off while you’re still sitting. Then of course, you end up with a wet bum – and that’s just not cool. In any case, most people (girls at least) do the “hover” over a public toilet seat so all that results in is the toilet not flushing when you’re done. Um - Ewww!

Or worse – you’re done and you stand up, zip up and are almost about to leave when you realize that it hasn’t flushed! Well, you can’t just leave, so you end up having to do the “fake sit” for a second or two. And if it still doesn’t flush, then you’re standing there in the stall peeping down into the bowl and praying that the damn thing just flushes so that you can get going!

But even if the toilet behaves and flushes when it’s supposed to, you have to then reckon with the washbasin. Every auto sink is different, so I never know whether to wave my hands under the faucet or near the wall of the sink or in any other place. I end up doing a sort of random hokie pokie kind of motion around the sink and eventually I have water. But the water disperses only in short 5 second bursts and then you have to start all over again and find that “sweet spot”.

Supporters of these new age washrooms state that these devices make it more hygienic etc etc, but really, after all of that hoop la everyone leaves the washroom by grabbing the same dirt and germ ridden door handle – so just WHAT was the point of all of the above????!!!

Reveling in Reading!

Recent Buys:
Peter Pan, Brick Lane, Tales of Oz, The Clocks, The Grass is Always Greener over the Septic Tank, Bart Simpson’s Guide to Life, A Little Princess, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Witches, Around the World in 80 Days, The Scarecrow of Oz, Tictok of Oz, The Magic of Oz, The Mousetrap and other plays, The Clocks, Elephants can Remember, Postern of Fate, Murder on the Blue Train, Death in the Clouds, Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, The Golden Ball and other stories, The Big Four, Murder in Retrospect, Dead Man’s Mirror, Welcome Home – Tales from Small Town Canada, Hickory Dickory Dock, Emily Climbs, Akin to Anne – short stories from PEI, Shopaholic and Sister, Shopaholic Ties the Knot



Currently Reading:
Bomaby, meri jaan – One of my India trip buys; a collection of short stories, essays, poems and even a recipe for a typical “Bombay” dish by some of the biggest names in literature, all trying to capture the spirit, the essence and the very core that is this (in)famous city where millions flock to follow their dreams and millions more watch their dreams slip away.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII – Three Katherines, Two Annes and a Jane – all married to one of the most powerful and most notoriously fickle of English Kings. Divorce, beheadings, still borns and bastards – and this is still the early stages of the book!

Death in the Clouds – for a little light reading to get distract from the weight of the other books – Dame Agatha Christie’s story of murder accomplished at 3000 ft does the trick!


On my to-read wish List:
Amritsar to Lahore – An account of author Stephen Alter’s journey across the contentious border between India and Pakistan in 1997 (the 50th anniversary of Partition), interviewing people from all classes and castes and questioning national and individual identity, the territorial imperatives of history, and the mythology of borders.

The Assassin’s Song – I tried reading ‘The Gunny Sack’ by the same author – M.G Vassanji – before, but was unable to sift through the confusion of names and sub stories and found the entire narrative a bit tiresome and gave up. Have heard wonderful things about the book from Lotus Reads and on the strength of her recommendation, am going to give Vassanji another shot.

That Jittery Feeling

I'm tired of being back home. And being responsible. And being a good girl.

Sick. And. Tired.

I want to go see the woods that Liisa is talking about.
I want to go back to Japan and try for another sight of Mt. Fuji.
I want to chill out on the shores of the lake in Udaipur and read my fav books.
I want to explore caves and caverns and climb mountains (ok, small hills) and trek in the rainforrest.

I want..... I want..... I want.

Instead, I will go off and shower and get ready for family day at the ballpark. Smile Intact.

Little Indian in the Big Woods

Determined to keep up with my new policy of expanding my horizons and making new friends, I accepted an invite from a friend to go on a camping trip. This was really taking a leap of faith as (1) I knew said friend in a very remote fashion and hadn’t even met him in the past 2 years and (2) I didn’t know any of the other people going on the trip.

Still, the mere prospect of finally participating in yet another truly “Canadian” summer experience” just thrilled me to the bones and I was all gung-ho with my preparations. Even the daunting forecast of thunder showers for Friday night and most of Saturday was not enough to deter me from enjoying my weekend.

I was supposed to get off work at noon on Friday and armed with all sorts of helpful hints from my camping savvy coworkers, I proceeded to Canadian Tire to pick up all the handy dandies I needed. Good thing everything was on sale coz as a Camping Virgin, I needed it all! Ropes, tarps, air mattress, sleeping bag, lantern, torch, insect repellent and more…. I piled it all into my cart. Next stop – the grocery store where I bought so many provisions that one would have suspected I was barricading myself in a bunker for the next 5 years! And last (but by no way least) a trip to the LCBO!!

By 6:30 when friend and friend’s friends came by to pick me up, I had 2 coolers, 2 folding chairs, 1 sleeping bag, 1 air mattress and 1 knapsack ready and waiting on my front steps. The car was already filled to the brim, so I had to leave one chair and one cooler behind, but I did manage to squeeze all the beer into various nooks and crannies. Wasn’t about to go off into the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers with out some backup!

Most of the folks were easy going and nice enough to get to know. Of course every rule has its exception and in this case the exception was Très Bossy Girl who’s constant nagging and whining and bitching about every little thing made me want to pitch her head first into the lake with a very LARGE rock tied to her feet! I’m sure I would have done the world a great service.

In spite of Little Missy Bossy Two Shoes, I did have a wonderful time. Not even the gloomy and wet weather could put a damper on our sprits. We indulged in game after game of Bluff and Snap; Charades provided hours of entertainment and we nearly brought down the tent with one hilarious game of Twister!

And of course there was the FOOD. Honestly, we’d hardly finished one meal before we’d get planning on the next! Food DOES taste so much better in picnic form. And the stranger the combinations, the better things tasted. And I’ll bet it was the ultra delish smells that brought a baby skunk a-sniffing round our garbage one night. Trying to shoo away a skunk and not alarm or annoy it in the process is a delicate science I tell ya! Fortunately there was no spraying incident and we did get a good laugh and pictures of Pepe perched on the bench delicately nibbling at a left over burger. I’m sure he went back to his friends telling them about how nicely the Two Feets treated him and how they should ALL drop by on the other Two Feets for a friendly visit! That probably accounted for the panicked yells we heard from other campsites later on at night!

I was back home Sunday night – exhausted, sleepy and a bit grimy. I was really glad that I could say that my first ever camping experience had been a tremendous success, but was equally happy to be back to my comfy bed and hot shower!

Trainspotting

On a day when the temperature in the shade is a balmy 38 C, a girl gets onto the subway wearing
(1) stripped leggings
(2) a skirt
(3) a long sleeved top
(4) a halter neck undershirt
AND
(5) a Scarf!
She DID have flip-flops on, so perhaps that was her cooling balance.

A few stops later, a guy with a bike got on. He was wearing a suit, so was obviously not going to ride the bike. Was he taking it for a train ride then?

In the seat besides me - College/ University student watching recording of lecture on his funky IMac typing simultaneous notes on the same, while listening to his Ipod and occasionally checking blackberry for messages.
This guy would be fun to watch during a power blackout. Kinda like the cold turkey patients at the Betty Ford clinic!

Twenty something year old with faux fashion label clothing and wet, limp just-out-of-the-shower hair gets onto the Rapid Transit. In the 9 minutes from end to end of the RT line, she manages to brush and twist her hair into a chic bun; apply eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara and curl her eyelashes (ouch!); apply foundation, blush, lip liner and lipstick; check teeth for breakfast remnants and dab on a bit of perfume. I almost wanted to applaud her when she finally put down the last beauty product!!

And finally,

Old man gets onto subway car wearing old but neat suit. Carrying walking stick, reads newspaper – seems like any other old man commuter. Suddenly something moving on his jacket catches my eye. I try to peer past the raised newspaper and then I see it – a mouse in his top pocket! It’s only a matter of minutes before the lady sitting next to him gives a petrified shriek and rushes to the other end of the subway car.

Old man looks up startled. Smiles. Keeps reading.

And folks wonder why I love taking transit!

Dating: Likes and Dislikes

I like,

• The whoop-de-doo, roller coaster feeling in my stomach I’ve been getting of late when I think about a certain someone.
• The thrill of seeing a new email or txt message – also from same someone.
• Learning new things about the person and piecing it all together like a big jigsaw puzzle.
• The anticipation of the next meeting where one hopes one will have as much of a good time as our last one.
  
  I do not like,
• Playing the dating game.

How long should I wait before replying to a message? How long should the actual reply be? How long is too long before he calls back/ asks me out again? This whole process is driving me NUTS!

I was discussing this with The Blonde One on Sunday while we sat around making polite conversation at a Baby Shower. She gave me much hope for the situation by telling me that her boyfriend took all of 3 months to call her after their first meeting. After hearing that, I decided that my situation was downright enviable and immediately felt heaps better.

Anyway, date # 1 on Tuesday went well. We stuck to the tried and true movie-and-a-meal formula, which is great coz if you find that you have nothing to say to each other, you can at least talk about the movie! Fortunately there was much to say as the movie turned out to be the biggest honking piece of crap ever made and I was SO embarrassed for choosing it. Boy was rather nice over it and we giggled our way through the totally crap dialogues, abysmal emoting and completely ridiculous story lines.

Post movie dinner n drinks were also comfortable – light funny stories and personal-but-not-too-detailed experiences shared. Pre date I had made a list of “reserve conversational topics” should the chatter wane, but am happy to report did not have to resort to said list at all. Yes, I realize that this idea was stolen right out of As Good As it Gets but hey, he got the girl didn’t he???

Date ended with light kiss and a “I’ll be seeing you soon” – Him and “Yes, that would be great” – Me.

Now back to waiting.

Crap!

Like a well Matured Merlot

The best part about being one of the very youngest among your circle of friends is that you always get to feel nice and “young’ in like” when hanging out with them. The downside can be that when out on your own, getting a reality check on the fact that you are in actuality NOT all that “young’ in like” and in fact part of the +25 age bracket can be a bit of a gob smacking experience!!

It also doesn’t help that I’m hopeless when it comes to hazarding a guess about a person’s age. I tend to judge people against myself, and that’s not a good measuring bar at all as today’s teenagers look older than I do, and I have the mental maturity of a 10 year old – on a good day!

Case in point; Earlier this year when I was traveling in Osaka, I hooked up* with two Aussi dudes and we wandered around the city together discovering the joys of the Dotonbori District. As we traded emails at the end of the night, I realized that the 86 after the one guy’s name could only stand for the year he was born making him a whole 5 YEARS younger than me!!! I had just spent an entire evening with 2 people who were probably still floating in amniotic fluid while I was in Kindergarten learning my ABCs!! Blast, Bother and Damnation!

Back in my college days, I received a gem of advice from a friend’s mom.
She said – Marry/ date someone who is at least 4 years older than you, and every day of that relationship you are guaranteed to feel good about yourself! And the day he turns 50, you will rejoice even more coz you’ll have (at least) 4 more years to go!

Ironically, all of my boyfriends have been 4+ years older than me. Well, there was that one dude I dated who was my age, but he was a rebound relationship and it only lasted 2 months anyway.

I think I generally like the idea of an “older man”. Being someone who tends to bend the scales (a bit), I like the idea of being “smaller” than my partner in some tangible sense! Some of my friends will say that I stretched this concept to the extreme with my first boyfriend who was a whopping 11 years older than I. While there may not appear to be a large gap between 32 and 43, there do tend to be eyebrows raised when it is 16 and 27!

Starting a career young can also have a distinct impact on your perceived age in the workplace. Although I was younger than most of my colleagues at my previous job, most people thought I was much older simply due to the fact that I was one of the most tenured employees in the department. Didn’t do much for my ego AT ALL I tell ya, when I was occasionally treated as being totally over-the-hill by someone who was 3 years older than me!

There are days when I cannot wait to hit my 30s. I think I’m just hoping that most of my life will be “sorted” by then. Or at least the important bits.

And then there are days when I feel that already at 26 I’m an aged fossil, and that my 30s will just be too hard to handle – especially since I’ll have one foot in the grave, and the other on a banana peel!


*Hooked up as in “hung out with” you dirty gutter inhabiting minds!

Just Breathe.....

... is the mantra I'm repeating over and over again as I sit at my desk this morning. It's day 5 now, and the AC in our office building is STILL not working!

This all began last Wednesday when finally after suffering in the heat for half a day, management took pity on us all and sent everyone home.

Thursday was only a tad bearable and Friday was awful! Half day for everyone!

Apparently, the problem is still not fixed, and the weather forecast this morning promised that today will be a hot and humid one!

Great! Just the way to begin a new week!


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

update.

We all got sent home. Again.
This is becomming inconvenient. I'm falling behind on projects!
Stupid AC systems!

All the good things in life are - FREE!

One of the coolest things about living in Toronto is that you don't have to break open the bank to go out and have a good time. There's something for everyone in the city, and if you know where to look - lots of it is FREE FREE FREE! I've been out almost every day of this long weekend and still managed to keep my spendings to a minimum - which of course I love!

Par example......

Friday night's ball game - all comped! Tickets, food, beverages, and insults too! ;)

Saturday evening, met up with friends for Ballet in the Park - part of a series of free ballet performances by a professional Toronto troupe to expose more people to the arts. The show was lovely, the sets beautiful and the dancers amazing. I've loved the ballet since I was a wee lassie and even did classes for 5 years! My first starring role was a chocolate bon bon in the Nutcracker. Quite apt, as I was the roundest little thing in a tutu! Of course these days when I watch a ballet performance, it's always with the slightest tinge of envy at the fact that those petite dancers can be lifted, carried and generally flung about the stage in all manners of ease. I'd probably need a pro wrestler to do the honours for me!

Post performace, we headed over to a house party. Once again, free food and good company and there *might* have been a wee bit of flirting involved. Ah well.....I'm allowed!

Headed over to The Lady Killer & Cosmo Girl's place on Sunday night for movie night. Ok, so it wasn't totally free; I invested in a bottle of wine and some dessert, but it was a generally cost effective evening but still with sufficient fun and entertainment! Watched some bad Sunday night TV and then a great movie - Hot Fuzz. Same crew as Shaun of the Dead and just as hilarious.

And continuing with this weekend's theme of Fun Times for Free, I'll soon be enthroned on my comfy blanket under the Maple tree in the backyard with a nice book, a jar of ice-cold lemonade and some pecan biscuits.

My weekend has literally been - Priceless!

BaSS - Part 3

It was Friday night with friends at the at the ballpark last evening. The guys and I had worked together back in the day and it was fun talking about old times and sharing gossip about current affairs *wink, nudge* Texas was in town and with Doc Halladay, our ace pitcher on the mound it was bound to be a good game.

And it was! Lot's of scrappy base running and timely hits and nice defense and we won 6-4!

I had been on a high pretty much all day anyway, and was prepared to be in love with the world - even Andy who was sitting a few rows away from us. During the course of the game, we exchanged pleasantries, high-fived good plays and tipped our hats to each other on the win. (ok, mine was a virtual tip!)

Then as I was making my way to the parking lot I get a call from him. And I quote:

"Hey, I have to kill an hour - want to go get a drink?"

No, Jacka**, I don't want to be your "kill time" buddy while you wait for your gf to get in to town.

Just in case I didn't make that clear enough last night.

Boys are SO Stupid - Part 2

So last weekend Lady Killer and Cosmo Girl hosted a party that had all the trimmings of a summer BBQ fiesta!
Good food, good friends and the definitive signs of good times…. (Yes, there are pics!)

Thanks to some totally awesome Sangria followed by a bottle (or two) of vino blanc, I was delightfully tipsy by the end of the night – which is about when that I discovered one of J’s friends had been showing a more than cursory interest in my drunken rambling stories. Drawn in by his charming smile and deep blue eyes, I continued to spew stories to him about life and love and loss, and one thing led to another and we ended up playing a very enjoyable game of tonsil hockey for the better part of the night and into the wee hours of the morning.

In the clear (and strong) light of day, a bit of mortification began to seep into my system, but Deep Blue seemed to not want to let go of the moment bestowing tiny little butterfly kisses on me – when no one was looking.

When we parted, he asked if he could call me and took my number and email.

On Monday, I received one polite message on Facebook (actually a reply to MY message) and then – NOTHING.

It’s been 5 days now, and no contact.

No phone call.

No email.

No message on stupid Facebook.

Nothing.

Nada.

Nichego. (That’s Russian you plebeian!)

Ah well. At least he was a good kisser! Not a COMPLETE waste of my time! ;)


For more on the "Boys are SO Stupid" series, see here.

Dressed for Success

I begin every work day with the same routine. Repeatedly hit the clanging alarm, drag myself out of bed, stumble to the washroom, have a shower, stumble back to my room and then stand before my closet waiting for inspiration or divine intervention to hit me. Every morning I stand there with the knowledge that I have exactly 34.5 seconds to decide on what to wear and figure out if my choice of clothing is (a) washed (b) Out of the dryer (c) moderately unwrinkled (d) still fits me before I will start to fall behind on my schedule and inevitably be – late and running for the train.

When (note, no “ifs”) I’m terribly rich and moderately famous, I shall have a personal shopper and personal dresser. I shall then look as wonderfully turned out as some of the uber glamour chicks I see each day on the subway. At 7 am, when even the sun is still struggling to shine, these freaks of nature are well dressed, perfectly matched, prudently manicured, carefully coiffed and primed and pruned so that they look like they’ve just stepped out of a runway catalogue and onto the platform. They never run for trains (primarily coz they’d break their leg running in 4 inch overpriced shoes) and they never smudge their lip gloss as they serenely sip coffee and flip the pages of their newspaper. I also suspect that there’s actually no coffee in their overpriced flask – it just happened to match with the day’s ensemble.

Regardless, one day I will look just like them – in larger size clothing of course. And then even though I don’t need to take the subway to work anymore I will get onto a 7 am train looking just as coiffed and well groomed as they do, ‘cept I’ll be sipping on actual coffee of course!

Plans

The weekend is almost upon us and I have just 2 hrs and a bit until I'm OUTTA HERE. Woohoo for Summer flex time and half days every other Friday!

Lots of plans for this weekend are bouncing around trying to get my attention right now. Topmost on the list are of course my hair session and pedicure this afternoon. There will be some MAJOR primping happening - hopefully all with great results!

Other plans include:

• Meeting H and Chudley this evening to check out the Yonge/ Dundas festival. Highlights include a set by comedian Russell Peters.
• Checking out the HipHop festival at the Harbourfront Centre.
• Browsing through the H&M sale while waiting for H and Chuds - who are perennially late.
• Checking out the newest additions to the BMV outlet at Yonge/ Dundas. Have vowed to keep myself to a 3 book purchase limit. OK, maybe 4.

Rain is in the forecast for later today, so actual plans might turn out:

• Get primped
• Check out BMV
• Browse at H&M
• Meet H and Chuds
• Find pub
• Chat & drink & catch up!

Which are also perfectly lovely things to look forward to!

Happily Ever After?

A sunny afternoon, downtown in the city. A girl walks down the street sipping on a cool summer drink. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a big brown dog jumps up at her and her drink goes flying.

Frazzled, she looks around for the mutt and instead finds herself gazing into the most beautiful pair of melting brown eyes – and no it wasn’t the dog. Nice Eyes has a smile to match as well. She notices that his lips are moving, but she’s too intent in trying not to let her jaw (visibly) drop, so it’s about a minute later that she realizes that he’s asked a question and is waiting for a reply. Damn… what was the question? She opts for a laugh and a mumbled “Sure” hoping that it’s the right answer!

Apparently it does, coz Nice Eyes steers her towards the nearest coffee shop and gallantly buys her a new drink. All the while the puppy has been licking her drink sticky fingers. As he apologizes once again she realizes where she’s seen him before. On the baseball field at the stadium down the road pitching for the home team. And oh yeah – he’s married!

She smiles back at him, says thanks and trips away down the street. So close.

The Last Word in Magic

In the end, it was all about Love.

For 10 years now, J.K Rowling’s masterpiece books about the boy wizard and his magical world have had many a lesson in morality and ethics, friendship and loyalty, truth and courage, loss and laughter crafted within the stories and the characters of the 7 novels. But the one theme that turned out to be more important that any magic spell or mystical article or powerful weapon was – LOVE. Simple, undying, beautiful, eternal Love.

The concept of Love has played a central theme throughout all the books. It was Love that first stayed the hand of death to the infant Harry through his mother’s sacrifice of her life and 6 years later it was once again Love that showed Harry the way to his fulfilling his destiny and to his ultimate sacrifice.

It was friendship – tried and true – that helped Harry overcome many arduous challenges over the years. And what is friendship if not a version of Love?

For someone who has always been cynical of this particular four letter word and more so of late, the message hit home harder than ever.

For, to give up on Love is to loose out on life itself.

Love not only takes us to the dizzying heights of joy and happiness, but also grounds us, keeps us safe and comforts us in our time of despair; brings out the humanity in us all. It is Love that shows us the way when all exits seem have been barred and Love that promises us the dawn of a new day when the night seems everlasting and endless. To neglect such a strong emotion from our lives would be akin to splitting one’s soul and thereby tarnishing one’s being.

Do I think the books were perfect? By all means no, there were many gaps in the story that never got answered and many characters and sub plot that were loosely woven at best. I loved the roller coaster effect of the final book, with the twists and turns when you least expected it. I’m not all that fussed about the brief epilogue provided, but I also understand that Rowling felt like she had to have more than just an imagined “Happily Ever After”. I guess she wanted us, the fans to KNOW that there was an ever after, not just hope that it happened.

I am now filled with a relief that the wait is finally over, but also a deep sense of sadness in that this is the end – no more stories to come. But as long as I am able, I will read. And as long as I read, I will dream.

So although the world of Hogwarts has been closed, I know another world – just as spectacular – is waiting for me as I reach for my next book.

Grrrrr......

It's past noon now and my Harry Potter book has yet to arrive.

I've been sitting out on my front steps since 10:30, and every time a car/ van/ bicycle drove by, I jumped up in hope.

After 1.5 hours of hopeless jumping I'm back indoors.

What's the point of the pre order if you have to WAIT this long????

**********************************

Update

New book FINALLY received at 3:54 pm.
It's now 11:15 and I'm done reading it.

J.K Rowling, you are a genius!

Shout Out!

As a follow up to my tribute to my Blog posse, I really DO need to do a formal “Shout Out” to one of my most dedicated Blog readers – Penguin Pal. Come rain or shine, PP reads my mental excrement and is with me on my highest highs and supporting me in my lowest lows.

Just when I feel like this blog is a complete waste of time, energy and resources she posts a comment that let’s me know that at least ONE person out there is with me on this roller coaster that is my life. Her comments always hit the right spot and give me a nice warm fuzzy feeling about myself!

I also know that I have a few closet fans! There’s a few other folks who I suspect read the blog, but never post comments and never let on that they read it unless they’re drunk and they happen to reference a previous post in conversation!

To those shadowy figures out there – COMMENT! And you too shall be rewarded with a “Shout Out”

Now, because you are reading this expecting some sort of an actual post, here's my very own version of "Overheard....." for you, my dedicated fan(s).

At Union Station, waiting for friends.

Man: Excuse me Miss, are you Natasha?
Me: No.
5 minute interval.
Man: Excuse me, would you like to be Natasha?


In public washroom at Harbourfront Centre.

Little Girl: I can’t use this washroom, it’s all messy and ick.
Mother: (peering into the stall). Don’t be silly, it’s just fine [insert little girl name]. Life is ick. Hurry up now!

Babies Blooming

Just back from lunch with one of my ex colleagues from the Jays where he broke the news to me that he and his wife are expecting a baby around mid January next year. Am totally kicked by this news and HUGE Congratulations to the both of them!

I did have a nagging feeling that she was in the baking mode when we met 2 weeks ago, but held my tongue as the only indicator I was going by was a gut feeling and the fact that she was bigger than I had ever seen in the 5 years I've known her; and she's normally tres petite. I didn't quite want to confront her just based on that!!

This brings the total of “expected babies” up to a whopping 7, averaging at one every month from this September to next January!

Aunty Nix prolly needs to begin shopping wholesale for baby booties and buntings!

Blog Buddies

Over the past 2 years of my blogging history, I’d like to say that I have gathered a nice blogging posse. I know I don’t have a long blogroll, but I’d rather go for the quality over quantity!

My buddy list consists of 4 current Tokyo residents, who were the original inspiration for my trip to the Land of Sake and Sochu. If not for their vivid description of life in Japan, I’d prolly never have traveled there, and would have forever missed out meeting 4 of the nicest virtual friends a gal could have!

Another on the list is an ex colleague who I’m happy to also call a friend and the remaining two are bloggers I discovered randomly off another blog list.

And finally, the newest addition – an old college friend from Bombay and also probably the only other person from our graduating year who is just as clueless as I am (or more) when it comes to relationships, and also the only other person left who isn’t married and spitting out babies! A warm welcome to Curly Girlie and I’m much grateful that she has finally made the move over to Blogger as following her antics on msn was painfully difficult. Besides, I could never post comments on her spewage as I didn’t have the required passwords and couldn’t be a*sed to get ‘em!

Over the past 2 years reading about their lives has become an integral part of my life! Even before I met the 4 in Tokyo, I felt like I knew who they were, and what they were all about. How couldn’t I when I was reading about their day to day living and basically getting a little peep into their worlds?

Looking at their blogs has become part of my morning routine, as important as my cuppa coffee and my bowl of cereal. It’s great to know that friendships are not restricted by physical boundaries and spatial distances. It’s nice to know that I can count on these folks for support, encouragement and random advice. It’s nice to know that my opinions and advice matter – some!

It’s nice knowing you my blog buddies!

In Need of Hairapy

Two months ago as I was wandering down University Ave, I was approached by a young man. Instead of the usual plea for money, he offered me an amazing promotion with a local salon. For a mere $46, I would receive a coupon that entitled me to 4 visits for (1) hair wash, cut and style (2) manicure (3) mini pedicure and polish (4) follow up hair treatment.

I bought 2 coupons before the guy had even finished with the pitch!

Almost immediately, I experienced oodles of guilt as going to someone else for a haircut was tantamount to cheating on Connie who’s been my amazing stylist for the past year. Before that I went to a tres expensive salon in Yorkville and when I finally made the break and “took up” with Connie, I felt like a dirty cheating ho.

What IS it about hairdressers that make you SO guilty when you want to go somewhere else?

Full of shame for my durrrty durrty deeds, I called Connie and made a full confession. Only after I had procured her blessings to go to another hairdresser, did I start to feel better about the whole situation.

Anyway, have made me an appointment for Friday, July 27th. Hope it works out as I have a summer partay to attend the next day where I’m hoping my new locks will make a favourable and lasting impression on a certain someone.

Or, things can go horribly wrong and I will be severely punished for even attempting to cheat on my beloved Connie and will have to attend said party wearing concealing scarf on head.

My new nightly prayer: Hair Angels, be gentle with me. I have had many trials of late and would not withstand an attack on my luscious locks. Thanks very much, Amen.

Back in the Saddle Again - and trying to hang on!

Almost all of the post break up advise that I’ve been receiving includes the tried and true “To hell with the F*ckwad, get back in the game and see other guys again.”

While this is charming and endearing advice, I’m not too sure I able to actually follow up on it. It’s been 4. 5 years since I’ve been on a date. A real date. A go-out-for-coffee/drinks/dinner-combined-with-general-light-banter date. And the few dates I DID go on pre Andy were utter disasters. The kind where one orders the smallest item on the menu and then feigns having to run off for a class mid way through the meal.

Andy and I never dated. He hung around me and my friends for 3 months, got threatened by one to “either ask her out or get lost”, continued to hang around and finally got tricked into taking me out by another friend.

I really should have seen the end coming right there!

In the 4 years we were together, we never went to a romantic dinner for two, never held hands at the movies and never took long walks on the beach together. True we did a lot of far more fun and interesting stuff together, but the point is, if I had to follow the regular “dating” pattern, I wouldn’t know to even begin!

Which brings me back to the question: How DOES one “procure" a date?

Does one smile sexily at the cute guy on the subway? He could be a psycho, follow you home and murder you and your family.
Does one make eye contact with the hottie standing in line at the food court? He could be a psycho, follow you back and murder you and your colleagues.
Does one drop a hanky/ folder/ handbag/ keys in a public place and wait for random cute guy to chance to pass by and pick it up? He could think YOU are a psycho and avoid you like the plague.

It all seems just a tad dodgy to me, but then again I have seen first hand that some of the most bizarre pickup lines DO work. Case in point my very first “pub night” at York U, a friend of a friend stopped by a particularly cute guy and asked him – Are you Polish? He was, and they proceeded to date for 2 years and then get married. Go Figure.

I take comfort in the fact that millions of people out in the wide world are dating. Obviously it works on some level. I’d love to attend a “How to…” workshop or even receive a mail order “Operational Procedures” manual. Having a set of rules to work with will definitely take the pressure off me having to self analyze the guy’s every move while on the date. It shouldn’t have to stress about whether I’m being too forward or not enough, too smiley or too serious or Heaven forbid – too ME!

I have even considered going the Britney Spears way and letting my clothes do the talking. A new range of T shirts could then act as my social status indicator when I’m in public. This way, I don’t really have to say or do anything, and if anyone wants to act on the message, they can go right ahead. This said, I would be committing all sorts of fashion faux pas that Perez Hilton would slay me for, but since I’ve never been a fashioneesta kinda gal, I’m going ahead with my idea.

Some potential tees could read:

Hello, I’m: SINGLE
Wanted: Boyfriend Type of Guy – Apply Within
Me Single; You Available?

Now although the above makes it seem like any and all applicants are welcome, I do have some base stipulations:

(1) He must be taller than me by at least 4 inches. I’m a mere 5ft5” so this will hardly be tough for all those North American tallies out there. Having dated a majority of short(ish) guys, I find that wearing heels around them makes for an awkward photograph.
(2) He must be well built enough to match me and I am a WHOLE LOTTA woman – if you get my drift!
(3) Looks don’t really count, but he must not be too handsome. I would prefer to be the prettier one – thank you very much. (For reference see past relationships)
(4) He must not take longer than me to get dressed. Any man who spends longer than 2 mins in front of a mirror is to be avoided at all costs.
(5) He must be gainfully employed. I would like to be on the receiving end of several “tokens of love”.

And finally, even if all over the above do not match,
(6) Love is not the answer. I'm looking for worship. Without reservation, without condition.

If wishes were horses, I’d be dating right now! Chances are, some internet weirdo will read this list and post some freaky comment that I will have to delete and then go back to lamenting about the lack of decent men in the world.

Men really ARE like toilets – either they are taken, or they’re full of shit.

Happy Anniversary to Me

Today is the anniversary of my arrival to Canada. Exactly 6 years ago to the day, I arrived into Toronto’s Union station at 9:15 pm en route from Dorval airport together with my family and 11 pieces of luggage. At first glance we looked rather like the Von Trapps (minus a few kids) as our luggage contained among other things – 2 guitar cases and 1 electronic piano. The porters were NOT impressed.

Over the past 6 years much has changed for everyone in my family. We’ve had some good times and then some bad; we’ve made new friends and lived new experiences. Both my parents have jobs in a new field of work and my brother has passed though elementary and high school and is now in university.

I have put in my time as a student, and worked at a variety of jobs. From babysitting and retail to Radio Programmer and Corporate Sales – I’ve done it all.

On October 25th 2005 we all stood before a judge and swore allegiance to our new country and to the Queen thereby becoming Canadian. Suddenly, air travel became just about tolerable again and I no longer braced myself for “random” checks at immigration!

Life has changed a lot and many times over the past 6 years. It’s kept me guessing and wondering about the years to come. Check back with me in 2011 – year 10!

Analysis

**If you haven’t watched the 5th Harry Potter Movie, DO NOT read this!**

Brilliant casting – Imelda Staunton was the Umbridge of my imagination come to life! Kudos to the art/ costume team for nailing the details in her office and her wardrobe was perfection itself! As well, Evanna Lynch made a terrific Luna Lovegood with just the right mix of batty and endearing.

Excellent set design – as always, the sets were spectacular making our journey further into the world of Witchcraft and Wizardry even more exciting than before. New sets include The Ministry of Magic, The Hogwats train station and of course Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Shakey Extras – The marginal characters and extras were mediocre actors – at best. Quite a number of scenes were consequently spoiled (for me at least) as I was paying more attention to the hamming than to the entire situation. I wonder if this has to do with originally casting kids who are charming and lovely at 11, but by 16 have the emotional range of teaspoon and are unable to act out the emotion that the line calls for. Which brings me to…….

GREAT British one liners – mostly delivered by a member of the Weasley family. For the love of Mike, I cannot remember a single one right now, but I know I laughed out loud during the movie!

More of Snape – if you ask me, it’s about bloody time! He’s an integral part of the overall story line and so far his appearances in the movie have been scant and random. I LOVE Allan Rickman and once again I think that whoever cast him as Severus Snape deserves a life-time supply of Chocolate Frogs!

Missed wishes – I wish there had been more emphasis on the mystery surrounding the Prophecy and Neville’s role in the equation. Folks who have not read the books (inconceivable, but true) will not get the full implication of why Harry has connection he has with Voldermort.
Also, all references to Quidditch are sadly missing. I understand that it’s impossible to get the entire book into the movie, but I DO think that shutting out all references altogether makes it seem like something huge is missing from the story.

In conclusion, an altogether enjoyable experience and a great set up for book 7.

Talking About Transit

I use the TTC every day. So do about a million others. And more than 75% of them are total commuter morons!

Like on escalators – stand right; walk left. It’s a simple concept, but may as well be quantum physics by the way people are completely unable to comprehend these basic instructions. And of course when one tries to enforce it, well, that’s crazy talk!

Or when a train pulls into the station and everyone rushes to the doors nearest the stairs or the elevator. HELLO….. There are about 50 doors on the train – ALL OPEN. How about you try another compartment instead of trying to quash yourself into a space that Tinkerbell would find tight and in the process holding up the train coz your oversize overpriced Louis Vomiton bag is blocking the doorway.

Or how about when the folks get into a compartment or a bus and promptly stop just past the doors, making it impossible for other people to comfortably and not to mention safely get on board. And even when the driver yells “Back of the bus please”, they move a fraction of an inch and look as if they’ve done the world the biggest favour. A close relative of the above kind of the people are the ones who don’t have to get off the bus or train, but still persist in blocking the doorway so that people are forced to walk in/ out around them. And God forbid someone accidentally bumps into them – it’s the prelude to the Armageddon!

Or the person with a 100 bags who thinks that it’s ok to deny others a seat because their bag of groceries and their shopping bags have had a tougher day than the rest of the folks on the train. And when asked to move the bags usually makes disgruntle noises and annoyed faces. Like it’s not THEIR fault you don’t have a seat!

Or the douchbag masquerading as human who thinks that as a member of the male species it’s ok for him to sit with spayed legs and thus restrict MY sitting space to a minimum. If this is an attempt to let the world know that you have big balls, it’s not working. All it says about you is – “I’m an inconsiderate TOOL”

I could go on. But I can feel my blood pressure rising. I will instead go out and buy a smoothie. It won’t solve the problem of moronic fellow commuters, but it WILL make my tongue go blue… and that’s better than my face going purple!

Very Vexing!

No matter how much I try, I CANNOT get Flickr back onto my blog.

Terribly troublesome as I have a whole new lot of lovely pics to display and no means to do so!

Can someone out there in bloggerland help me?

Sincerely,
Nix the technically defunked Pix

Pottering Around

10 days 11 hours 12 mins 58 secs to the release of book 7 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Preparations to receive this book complete. All previous 6 books have been reread. Old notes from prior readings have been consulted. Few more theories added to the mix.

Harry Potter Movie 5 – Order of the Phoenix releases at midnight tonight. As much as I’d have loved to watch it then, getting up for work the next day would be torture. H, C and I have therefore settled for seeing it tomorrow. IMAX 3 D version of course! As with the book, preparations for the movie were made by watching the previous 4 over the past week.

Parents and bro get back from their vaykay this evening. Just when I was getting used to the peace and quite. I REALLY need to save up and get my own place. But that would mean curtailing my traveling, and I’m not sure I can do that!

Alarming observation:
I spent a few days trying to figure out who my new CEO reminds me of, and it struck me this morning – it’s my old VP from my previous job. The resemblance is uncanny – they could be siblings! They both have big personalities, but new CEO actually is a NICE person, doesn’t merely appear to be so, doesn’t treat me with casual indifference and doesn’t call me “Dar’lin” – thankfully.

MasterCard - take heed

Merchant of Venice tickets $23.00
VIA rail train tickets $75.00
Hotel cancellation fee $20.00

Weekend with the ex’s parents PRICELESS

A Comedy of Errors

Back during the cottage weekend, Lofi and her bf had mentioned that they’d like to go to Stratford to see a play sometime. After some initial investigation it was decided that we’d go see Merchant of Venice this Sunday, July 8th. The plan was to go there on Saturday to take in the sights and sounds of Stratford, spend the night, see the play and then drive back home Sunday evening. Lofi and I must have exchanged about 20 emails finalizing all of this!

All was going well until this morning when I called Lofi to ask what time she’ll be picking me up tomorrow. Her answer – “But aren’t we going on the 21st?”

Well!!!!!

Turns out she’d gotten the dates mixed up, and there was no way she or her bf could make it this weekend. This left me with a ticket booked, and a hotel reservation made but no way of getting to and from Stratford. Fortunately, a quick peek on VIA rail let me know that the train would take me in on Sunday and back to Toronto on Monday morning right in time for work! With a few clicks and my trusty AMEX, I was back in bizz.

Since I’d have an entire evening free in Stratford, I decided to call Jibblet’s parents who live just 20 minutes away and ask them if they’d like to meet up. His mum had left me a message just the night before and it was a good time to call back and check in with them. In the course of conversation, she proposed that she join me for the play and then we meet up with Jiblett’s dad and brother after the show and have dinner together and that I went back to the farm with them for that night. Ecstatic that things were working out great for me after all, I agreed and proceeded to cancel my hotel booking and book the train tickets.

Not even 10 minutes later, I get an email from Jibblett saying he was taking his new girlfriend to visit the parents on Sunday, and guess they’ll have to wait around till his mum got back from the play.

To which I replied – “Um… did they not mention that I was spending the night there?”

Jibblet: No. Oh! This might be a problem.

Me: Duh!

Jibblet: Can’t you stay in Stratford?

Me: Nope. Just cancelled the bookings and there’s nothing else (affordable) available for this short notice.

Jibblet: Can you take the train/ bus home on Sunday night itself?

Me: Nope. The play won’t be finished in time.

Jibblet and Me: THIS IS NOT GOOD.

Well, long story short, we went though all the options. Bus, train, other bus….. None of which were terribly viable. Cancelling my train and play tickets would be just too expensive for me, and besides I didn’t see why I had to have a busted weekend AND bear the costs as well! True Jibblet didn’t have to ask permission to go to his parents’ house, but if taking his new girlfriend there was that important he should have at least MENTIONED it to them! When his mum invited me over at 9 am this morning – no one had any inkling of Jibblet showing up for a visit!

So there we were at loggerheads, neither of us blaming the other, but neither wanted to budge at the same time.

And then, the unthinkable happened.

Jibblet emailed me and said that his mum had called him and told him not to come this weekend!!! She said that she’d made plans with me and that he and his gf could come visit another day.

I couldn’t believe it! Jibblet said he felt like a bear cub whose mum had swatted him away and taken in a fox or badger instead; or perhaps a tiger cub since I am Indian!

I swear, it was not the outcome I’d expected and I cannot believe that I was to have a weekend away after all! If I ever write my best seller, this episode will be recorded under the chapter “My boyfriend broke up with me, but I’m still dating his parents”

In the words of the Bard himself; “All’s Well that End’s well”

The Adventure of the Runaway GO Train

Since parents are away on vaykay right now, the rest of the family is currently feeling sorry for me. Why, I’m not too sure as I only just got back to working after being off for 8 months, 4 of which were spent gallivanting around the world! Still, sympathy is good when it includes invites to BBQ dinners! Sure beats the sandwich I’d have made for myself!

Yesterday, at 5:15 as I’m almost out the door, my VP decides to strike up a conversation about how she feels that I’m a great fit, how much she loves me yada yada….. Normally I would LOVE to stick around for a conversation that revolves around how wonderful I am, but I’d planned to meet Ann at Union station for 5:25 pm to catch the 5:33 home – and she didn’t look like she was going to end soon. I finally manage to escape and stumble into Union only to find the 5:33 pulling out!

Damn!

Lined up to purchase a ticket. It’s the start of the month, so every other GO commuter is also in line to buy/extend passes etc. The next train is at 5:53. Get ticket, run to platform get on train, collapse into seat. Announcement – “This is an Express train”. Jump out of seat and run towards doors. Doors close as I approach.

Damn. Damn. Double Damn.

Much perturbed now, as my ticket is valid only until the last stop in Toronto, and the train’s first stop is Pickering – outside that fare zone. Getting caught would mean an instant fine of $200!!

OH Damn.

Fellow passengers are all making socially appropriate sympathetic noises and bestowing pitying looks towards me. I settled into my seat knowing that there’s nothing I can do now. A few minutes later, nice, kind (and cute) guy leans over and tells me that there’s a train Toronto bound leaving Pickering at 6:25, so if I run I might just make it.

Feeling slightly better now, I make myself more comfortable and keep reading.

Announcement – “Arriving at Pickering”

I stand at the doorway ready to fly toward the other platform. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I see the guard heading towards the compartment. He’s at the connecting doors and will soon be at the door to check tickets.

DAMN!!!!

A fellow passenger sees what I see. Out of the corner of her mouth she mumbles “Go to the other door”. As nonchalantly as I can manage I move through the carriage towards the other doors. My heart is pounding so loud that I’m sure the guard can hear me and any minute he will call out “You…. STOP!”

I get to the other doors and wait. It’s just about 30 seconds till the doors open, but it feels like an eternity. As the doors open and I’m about to step out, I glance over and see that the guard is standing where I was before. If I had stayed put, he would have caught me!

I’m out of the train, but not out of danger – yet.

I run full speed towards the other platform and hop onto the train with mere seconds to spare. The train going into Toronto is empty so if there’s a ticket collector here, I have no chance of escape. For the 7 minute ride between Pickering and Rouge Hill, I sit at the edge of my seat gripping my bag. I’ve given up trying to look calm and collected. All I can think of is getting OFF the damn train and onto safe, neutral, unregulated ground!

And finally I’m at Rouge Hill. Just 20 minutes later than I should have been and only slightly worse the wear from my adventure.

O Canada - Happy 140th!

This past weekend was the Canada Day long weekend and as Canada celebrated her 140th birthday, I partied along with friends and family.

Started off on Friday with a BBQ at the de Lima house where all family members ‘cept for the Mendoncas were in attendance. By midnight all the kids had fallen asleep in various places around the house while the “grown-ups” were still going strong. It was almost 2:30 am when we finally got home! Received a wake up call from Menace bright and early (too damn early) on Saturday and had to force myself out of a beautiful dream about me on a carpet ride with Josh Duhamel. Drove to Oakville with Menace and The Beer Baron to pick up The Beer Baron's new bike – a BMW F 800 S (God, I hope I got that right!) and basically embarrassed him silly by being crazy groupie/ paparazzi girl taking 100s of pics and making loud comments on all and sundry. The sales guy was most happy to see us leave.

Paid a quick visit to Roopa and fly, and ended up hanging out for the rest of the afternoon with them and lunching in Burlington by the lake. Saw some of the swankiest houses ever on lakeshore in the Oakville/ Burlington area that had security gate houses that were bigger than my house! Made mental note to come back some day and canvass for “eligible bachelors” – there’s bound to be a few lonely souls out there, and I could be just the person for them to spend their millions on. Who wouldn’t want a cute, vivacious, super fun, charming ‘lil brown girl around? That too one with GREAT hair! ;)

In spite of having heaps o fun on Saturday, was feeling rather gloomy with self Sunday morn as realized that the past 4 years have been utterly misspent both in view of relationship as well as career. Cheered up greatly when Menace took me to the Bay where we tried on a multitude of hats and sunglasses and other random accessories. Ended up buying a hat as well as it was too dinky for words and only $10 after some mega discounts! Wore said hat for rest of afternoon and evening and felt wonderful about life. (It’s sad, but I’m SO easily amused!)

The Blonde One joined us at Menace's in the evening for our “mixed drinks” extravaganza. Beer Baron also showed up later after having ridden the length and breadth of the Golden Horseshoe area all day long. Weather did NOT cooperate and allow us to enjoy the outdoors, so had to make do with watching fireworks through the window. While sipping on concoctions like Mango Madness, Strawberry Surprise and Lime n Lemon fantasia, we discussed the upcoming Harry Potter book and movie thoroughly and also my views on “Buffy” with Blondie who was very happy to hear of my new found commitment to fluff TV. Discovered a revolutionary idea in dessert called “Angel Food Cake” which has all the yummy goodness taste of a regular sponge cake sans the icky fat/calories factor! Talk about an awakening! Rounded up the night by watched the original “Die Hard” movie from waaaay back in 1988 (wow, I was just 7 when that came out!) and marveled at how many ciggies Bruce Willis lit up during the 2.5 hrs it took him to overcome the baddies.

Met up with parents on Monday morning and drove to Wild Water Kingdom where we spent a lovely day with the Patels and the Pochas swimming in the wave pool, sliding down crazy water slides, floating along the “lazy river” on tubes and generally having a good time. Thankfully the weather was better than Sunday’s and I am now officially berry brown and lovin’ it!

The family was off for a vacation to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City this morning, so its home alone for me over the next week. Planning a trip to Stratford for next weekend with Loretta and Dale to see either “Merchant of Venice” or “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The Ex and I went to see Henry VIII two summers ago, but looking forward to spending some time exploring Stratford itself. Also, the last time I spent half the play explaining to Andy what was going on, so not terribly enjoyable for me! Not too keen on having to shell out almost $100 for a room, but I don’t have anyone to share with… so tough noogies! Thankfully the tickets are super cheap as compared to most other professional theatre prices, and with Loretta and Dale along, it’s sure to be a fun weekend!

It's Official!

Got my first pay cheque today, so I suppose I am now "Officially" Employed! woohooo!

The first week here at the new office has been a huge learning experience for me. So many new concepts to wrap my head around, new ways of doing things, saying things, looking at situations. The first time I left a vm for a client, I rattled off my old number at the Jays, then had to sheepishly call back and leave the right one! Oh well, everyone got a giggle outta that at least!

The new office is also very quite - just 15 people here and everyone speaks in sotto, pianissimo voices. A far cry from the everyday hustle of a sales floor shared with about 50 guys - all booming over the phone and having a conversation about everything from last night's shag to this morning's sports news. Think locker room - 'cept everyone's wearing a tie!

Also, new office is full of old-er people. Am by far the second youngest with the youngest having a mere 11 months less of living time. Still, my "boss"is tres young-at-heart types and doesn't seem to mind my err "eccentricities". It's probably that she's never worked with the likes of me before, and is just overwhelmed! Also, she's going to have to learn "Pixy Speak" really quick or else we're going to experience some big time communication issues. Perhaps she can take a quick lesson from my previous manager! Still, she's a dear and its way nicer working with her than with someone who thought I was "in the wrong place" and always reminded me of that in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

In all, a very good start to what I hope will be a great sojourn with a very fine organization. AND, I even got a key so now I can get into the washrooms.......!!