8 days of 27

Having a birthday is always fun - for me at least. I know that a lot of folk get a bit grouchy around their birthdays coz all they seem to think about is the fact that they are "getting older". I on the other hand completely revel in birthday de-light! Seriously, a day that's all about ME..... people giving you prezzies..... and if not prezzies - lots of love and wishes and kisses..... getting together with your family and friends to celebrate - ME. Honestly, what's NOT to love about this day?

This year's celebrations were especially nice and actually lasted an entire week with various friends and family contributing to the birthday merriment.

It all began last Sunday when I was invited over to Menace's house for dinner and a movie and girlie chitty-chatty. Dinner with Menace is always nice. For that matter, any meal at her place is always nice. Menace is a very very good cook. And excellent hostess. And lots of fun. Yet, Menace is surprisingly single, but until then her friends (like me) benefit (a lot). For example, she makes the bestest "morning after" breakfasts. Her always freshly ground coffee and scrambled eggs and honey toast and fresh fruit are awesome to chomp down after a night of drinking with the gang. If she's not feeling too rough, she'll make you her award winning (amongst friends) pancakes and then you KNOW you're in heaven! Anyway, I digress. Menace invited me over to her place for dinner last Sunday and we watched "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" followed by the 50th Grammy Awards. Both enjoyable to watch and terribly entertaining as well!

On Tuesday, I met up with Penguin Pal to attend a special event at the Royal Ontario Museum to celebrate 100 Years of Anne. L M Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" is by far one of my most favourite stories and I loved the character Anne from the very first time I read about her - so many moons ago. Well think about it....little girl, big imagination, rather dreamy and chatters non stop!! Sounds familiar??
The evening was a wonderful tribute to Montgomery and a wonderful experience for "kindered spirits" to get together and experience the magic of the story from a whole new pespective. Although it was a snowy, windy, wild winter night, the room was still packed with folks who were all there to celebrate the launch of the prequel to the Anne books - Before Green Gables. We got to hear from the author Budge Wilson (who I might add is rather a dear) and from Montgomery's granddaughter and many other, all who have made that evening and this new book possible. And best of all, we were served Raspberry Cordial and Pound Cake! Could it get any more like Green Gables??? I did mention to Penguin Pal that for the high price of the admission ticket, they might have considered serving *ahem* Anne's version of cordial instead! (Insider joke, must read the book to find out.)

What made this a birthday treat you ask? Well at the end of the night as we left with freshly autographed copies of the new book tucked under our arms, I turned to give PP the money for the ticket, she waved me away and declared it to be my birthday treat! Ah the way to my heart truly is via a bookcase!

On Thursday I met up with good friend from Jays for lunch. We got to the restaurant and then realized it was Valentine's day as the trio of giggling girls gushed over themselves trying to seat us. Thankfully we'd chosen a Texan steak grill for lunch and there weren't too many lovey-dovey people around. We did have to put up with the gaggle of gigglers and our waitress (who had the inexplicable name of Whiskey) wasn't all that sharp either. Still, when the meal did arrive it was good and we got some good catching up in between bites!
On Friday, we got let out of work early (yey!) and I dashed over to the salon to indulge in my birthday treat to myself - a full pedicure with all the fixings! Lord, I needed one too judging by the stern look I got from the esthetician! Shutterbug joined me after the pedi and we had a nice saunter through Bloor-Yorkville as we window shopped. I love window shopping. And I especially love it in the Bloor-Yorkville area. The shops are all so expensive that there's simply no way you'll be tempted to buy something you see. And even if by some freak of nature you DO find something in your price range (HIGHLY unlikely), chances are it's not going to fit anyway coz most of the people who shop in that district are all built along the lines of the Olsen twins and Kate Moss. Still, I do love the beautiful window decors and its a great (and cheap) way to kill time! Very soon it got too cold to wander around anymore, so we settled down to a great sushi dinner on Yonge Street and then headed off for a night of ballroom dancing on the Danforth.

And then yey... it was D Day!!!

Right at 12:05 am (just as I was nodding off to sleep) my cell phone rings! I finally get to it after first scrambling around for my alarm clock and sending various items flying off my side table and nearly overturing a full glass of water in the process! After a couple of groggy "hellos?" I finally clue in that its a friend from Australia and that snaps me awake in no time! We then proceed to chat away for the next 2.5 hours all the while totally ignoring what her bill is probably adding up to! We hadn't spoken to each other in YEARS and of course, we had tones of catching up to do. I'm SO looking forward to being at her wedding in Sydney in December this year.

My mum and dad presented me with a beautiful birthday present - jewelery from India. We're not a family that normally trades gifts at birthdays and Christmas and so on, so this was a real surprise for me!

That evening, I met up with a whole lot of my close friends at the home of the Lady Killer and Cosmo Girl. Lady Killer and I share a birthday and it was very nice to him to let me share in his celebrations as well. And in any case, almost everyone who I'd want to be at my birthday was there anyway and I just tacked on a few of my other friends to the guest list. I did also have a very new pair of amazingly beautiful boots to wear that night which added several inches to me and made me feel rather Amazonian!
Cosmo Girl had a cake all ready for me, with thankfully not ALL the candles on it! Everybody contributed to the food and as a result we had a veritable FEAST going!

And a "mini kegger too!

Sadly, I could not partake in the keg being on an alcohol free phase right now. But the one birthday drink I DID have ..... I made sure it was a good one - a pint of Innis & Gunn!

And then finally today, was the round up of my week long celebrations when my family all met at my aunt's place to celebrate my and my cousin's birthdays together. The Kimlette is born just a day before me - but several years apart!

And so ended the 8 days of 27. So far, I'm loving this new year of life!

Blood on the Dancefloor

The always insightful Jo has raised a very interesting point in her latest blog post. In short, she was talking about how Japanese schools have what ultimately equates to a "No Fail" policy so that even student who score as low as 25-30% in courses have their grades artificially inflated so that they can move on to the next level or next grade.

Reading about this, and the subsiquent comments to the post got me thinking about this whole issue from a different angle - my dance classes. Things are always fine and dandy each time I start learning a new dance style with a level 1 class. Everyone in the class is a beginner and no one is expected to know anything. But, when it comes time to register for the next level, you can pretty much group a class into 3 categories:

• Group A: students who know what they are doing and who want to continue to learn
• Group B: students who don't know what they are doing, but want to continue and are willing to practice extra
• Group C: students who don't know what they are doing and should not be allowed on a dance floor for the overall good of the class - and the rest of mankind!

The reality is that some people should not be allowed to continue to a higer level as they have not mastered the information/skills/steps from the previous level.

But of course, the dance school wants to make as much money as possible. So they allow poeple to register for an advanced level even if they know full well that the person is not capable of handling the new curriculum. Sometimes you'll get a consciencious teacher who will take the offender(s) aside and try to coach them some more, but most often these poor students are left trying vainly to follow the instructions and master complex steps and patterns when they can barely do the basics. The best case scenario is that they frustrate the folks who have taken the time to practice the steps and have essentially "done the required readings!" The worst case scenario is that they can seriously injure their parter (or others on the dancefloor) if they don't know what they're doing. And we're not just talking a stubbed toe - I've been at the receiving end of some hand yanks that have left my shoulder aching for days!

I do applaude the fact that these individuals are very obviously out of their comfort zone and are trying something new in life. I still feel that I should not be made to suffer through someone else's learning process.

After all, I too am a student there.

I too am trying to learn.

I too should have the best possible chance to do so. Without fearing decapitation in the process!

Recipe for the Perfect Masala

I first heard about author Stephen Alter last December when I was in London. Browsing through the shelves of my friend's home library, my eye caught upon an interesting title - Elephas Maximus - A Portrait of the Indian Elephant. The book was a unique blend of myth, legend, zoology and storytelling about the gentle grey giant of the Indian subcontinent. A must read for anyone who loves anything about those pachyderms! I was curious to read more by Stephen Alter, especially when I found out the subject matter of his other books and then a little more about him. I was finally able to get my hands on a relatively cheap copy of Fantasies of a Bollywood Love Thief recently and haven't been able to put it down.


A first hand insider's view of the world of Indian movie making, ....Love Thief tells about the making of the movie Omkara an Indian retelling of Shakespeare's Othello. Set in the harsh arid plains of North India the story and characters all take on very Indian personas. Othello becomes Omkara, Desdemona is Dolly and Cassio is Kesu. The island of Cyprus is the village of Cypra and instead of warriors and soldiers the story is about a local gang lord and his lady love and his lieutenants.

More than just a telling of one movie, the book takes us through a journey of movie making that is as similar and yet as different from any other. Going behind the scenes, the author explores not only the movie but what lies behind it as well - the actors, directors, producers, musicians and the host of other unknowns on who's shoulders lie the success or failure of an industry that produces on average 900 movies a year.

Growing up in Bombay - the LA to India's Bollywood - Hindi movies were always part of my life. Although I didn't start going to see Hindi movies in the theatre until I was in high school, I remember settling down with my grandmother's maid most Sunday evenings to watch the week' showing. At a time when TV was limited to 3 channels 1 of which was in a regional language I didn't quite follow, we took what we got on TV and we cherished every moment. My grandmother was not really a Hindi movie fan, but was nevertheless obsessed with 2 particular Hindi movies - "Bobby" and "Aradhana" and because they owned the VHS we would watch those over and over until we all knew the dialogues by heart!

When I began college in my mid teens, movies... and Hindi movies in particular took on a whole new persona. There were 4 cinema halls a mere 10 minutes walk from the college and another 3 a short cab ride away. My circle of friends expanded from the very "Christian centric" group that living in a Catho-ville suburb like Bandra accorded, to a more multi cultural group from not only all over Bombay.. but all over India as well. Although everyone liked a good Hindi movie as much as the next guy, one friend in particular was passionate about the world of movies and through his passion, I was drawn into this glittering, gaudy, girating world of Bollywood at the movies.

In his book, Stephen Alter says

"The precise ingredients for a good blend of masala may vary according to the cook, but no matter what the recipe, this pungent concoction of spices excites all five senses.
Masala is the word most often used to describe a combination of elements that go into making a successful Bollywood film. Once again, the ingredients and quantities may be adjusted, with extra measures of romance, sex, violence or suspense, depending on the script. All these are simmered together to form a saucy cinematic curry that keeps audiences coming back for seconds."

And since my life is entirely devoid of masala right now - be it romantically or literally in my food, I turn to my daily dose of Bollywood to spice things up and raise a fire in my belly that keeps me warm through these oh so cold... oh so un Bollywood-like winter nights.

Gaining Perspective

Found out on Sunday that my cousin's daughter has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. She is 12 years old.
This morning I heard that my mum's sister is in the hospital. The doctor's need to take some ovarian tissue samples to send for a biopsy. We won't know anything until Friday - if we're lucky.
Also heard that my mum's brother (who was diagnosed with cancer last month) was rushed to hospital as he was experiencing difficulty breathing.
Then we hear that a close friend back in Bombay was the victim of a hit and run and died due to her severe injuries. 2 other people who were crossing the road alongside her also died. 4 others are in hospital with various injuries.


Somehow a lost bag of books seems inconsequential when someone could potentially loose a father, a husband, a mother, a daughter, an aunt, a grandchild...... a friend.

Things I Lost in the Taxicab

H had organized karaoke night on Friday to meet up with a friend (who we shall call Dandylion) from out of town after a long long while. It had been simply ages since we'd done karaoke and it was also nice to meet new people - friend's of the Dandylion. Didn't do a whole lotta drinking that night as now thanks to the mess in my tummy it just makes me really ill, so was quite content with 2 pints.
Guess everyone else was making up for me as when we finally left the bar, I ended piling into a cab with a drunk Dandylion, a very drunk H and a drunk out of his mind friend of the Dandylion. After some argument over whether or not we were dropping off drunk friend of D's, we made the decision to take him back to H's with us as dude would not have been able to find the board side of a barge in his present condition. Also, he made a pathetic face and whimpered "I don't want to go home." Barely did we pull up to H's house did drunk dude bolt out of the cab and hurl all over neighbour's dive way. I gave my bag to the girls and told them to head in while I paid off the cab and scrapped the boy off the sidewalk. Boy was sending conflicting messages such as "I'm fine, I'm fine... just leave me alone." And then when I started to walk away "Where are you going? Don't leave me!!" I had just sent off the cab when boy declared "I want to go home", which meant that I then had to walk/drag/ support him to the main road and flag down a cabbie. Then spend persuading cabbie to take him home when cabbie realized that I wasn't going too.
In all this confusion it wasn't until the next morning that I realized that a bag with books - that I had JUST bought that evening had been left behind in the cab. I was even MORE upset when I remembered that the bag also contained my fav red shawl and new sweater. I was devastated when I realized that I'm probably not going to see any of those items ever again.

I called the cab company, but they told me to call the police coz they just hand over found items to them. Filed a report with the police, but really am quite sure that in the food chain of police follow ups "missing bag of books" falls very very low on list.

Farewell to:

• The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
• The Penelopaid - Margaret Atwood
• Parker Pyne Investigates - Agatha Christie
• Can you keep a Secret? - Sophie Kinsella
• Playing for the Ashes - Elizabeth George

Am currently in mopey condition.
Yes Yes... I know... "Perspective" you say to me. I realize that things could have been way worse and that I could have lost purse or money or credit cards or other "valuable" items. But to me - books ARE valuable items, and I think I'm even more upset because I had gotten all of them for such a good price!

H did try to cheer me up with comfort food and apple-cinnamon tea and we all watched Dirty Dancing together and hooted and hollered every time we saw Patrick Swayze's nipples! But *sigh* I will give a tiny sob on Monday morning when I have to leave for work and cannot wear my beautiful red scarf.

Book Review - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series

If ever you are looking for a book that is guaranteed to make you feel upbeat and cheerful, then look no further than McCall Smith’s series about Precious Ramotswe and her detective agency. Set in the arid dust bowl of the Kalahari in Botswana, the series follows Mma Ramotswe as she goes about fulfilling a life long dream by setting up a detective agency in her town.

Peppered with colourful characters like the serious but sensible assistant, the steady dependable fiancé, the bossy matron who runs the nearby “Orphan Farm” and many many more, the series gives us a good insight into the home and heart of the African way of life. The author’s love for Africa and Botswana in particular is very evident by his portrayal of the people and the country through a series of interconnected short storylines.

The pace of the book matches the pace of traditional Botswana – slow and steady, mixed with the company of good friends and family. So make time for a cup of bush tea on a shady veranda and doing this like Mma Ramotswe you will find that life’s problems present answers to themselves and in the process you will find out just what you wanted to find out about your new next door neighbour!

First Memory

When I think back, the very farthest back that I can remember is of a time when I'm sitting at the table in my grandparent's house and my grandmother is feeding me. And as she spoons the food into my mouth she's crooning something in Konkani.
Probably saying "Lord, this child is a fussy eater!"

Anyway, that's my first memory - what's yours??

New Year Blues

2008 has started off on quite an upsetting note. Several family members have been affected with ill health and the general mood is one of somber recollections.

My mum's estranged brother was diagnosed with cancer in early December and his prognosis is not good.
My dad's brother (ironically also estranged) had a minor heart attack on New Year's day shovelling snow.

And just when we thought that we had no more "estranged" relatives that could be affected - my grandfather; my darling wonderful grandfather - had a little "episode" that the doctor termed as early cardiac failure and what he so eloquently describes as "the lights going out, then coming back on".
He's had 3 attacks so far since last Friday, each increasingly intensive than the first.

The weirdest part is that he seems quite OK in between these attacks. When I last spoke with him a few days ago, he was quite chipper and started off the conversation with "Baba, where in the world are you right now???"

Sense of humour - check!
Awareness of surroundings - check!
Awareness of persons and who they are - check!

Most Bizarre.
And Most Worrying!

Last days of 2007

Since Christmas, life has stumbled on at a rather slow and languid pace. And I'm really quite liking that! After the hustle and bustle of the last few months with the planning for the charity event, parties and meetings and finally the SFO trip, it's been quite nice to simply do.... nothing!


There has been a lot of lounging around in my new jammies and lots of watching of DVDs - Ronnie Mars, BFG Wedding, The Sound of Music (40th anniversary edition), Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, The Lady Vanishes...to name just a few)
I've interspersed the DVD watching with book reading - The Secrets of the Vinyl Cafe, The Glass Castle, Around the world in 80 days (re-read), Miracle on 34th Street (yes- the original book!) and am now on Tic Tok of Oz.


Finally left the comfort and warmth of home last night to meet up with the girls for pre New Year's Eve drinks. Found out that the bookstore on Front Street @ Church was having a mega sale and picked up a few books.


Will be going back tomorrow with a list....and more time to browse!

Unwrapping Christmas

Thanks to the abundant generosity of friends and family, this year's haul included:

• A pot of poinsettia flowers
• Veronica Mars DVDs (Season 3)
• Comic - Asterix and the Magic Carpet
• A bottle of Zinfandel Rose
• DVD - My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• Book - The Glass Castle
• 2008 The Nutty Bunny Calender
• A hand painted cloth bag
• Gold Star dark ale - special from Israel!
  
• A hatful of Lindt magic
• A jade vase
• A Bodyshop gift bag
• And finally, (my fav) new "cheeky monkey" comfy flannel PJs!!
  

Recipe for fun with friends @ Christmas!

I decided to try my hand at the delicate art of "sweet making" this Christmas and then realizing that I had not the foggiest clue about anything remotely concerned with the process, I called in re-enforcements; a.k.a Trippy and Shutterbug.

So here's a quick notes version of the events that transpired earlier today:

Step 1: Shutterbug checks to make sure we have all the ingredients we need.

• 1/2 kg of non sweetened biscuits
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 200 gms drinking chocolate or cocoa powder
• 2 fistful of minced raisins or plums
• 4 beaten eggs
• 3 -4 tablespoons butter
• 1 bottle of dark rum
  

Step 2: Powder biscuits. Add sugar, cocoa and minced raisins and mix.



Step 3: Add beaten egg and rum a little at a time and knead into a dough with the butter

Step 3.5: Try to understand how the hand beater works.

Step 3.8: Figure out the hand mixer.

Step 4: Add extra rum if needed to take off the taste of the eggs. More rum the better. (which we did - liberally)

Step 4.5: Give up on the hand beater and decide to use good old (wo)man power! Make funny faces as you knead the dough - it's key!

Step 5: Make mixture into small balls. Or large balls. Whichever floats your boat.

Step 6: Garnish with coconut shavings and and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. You can also use finely chopped nuts (for that delightful balls and nuts combo), or coco power (for a bitter sweet taste)

Step 7: Contemplate afternoon's work.
Note: Finished product may vary depending on quality of ingredients and cooking skills of chefs.

Where are you Christmas?

There's something missing this year.
The spark... the magic... the wonder.... the joy?

I've tried so hard, and yet I feel nothing. It's Christmas eve and it might as well be any other day of the year - I feel just as empty, just as blah.

Perhaps some will say I'm overreacting. But then if you've known me even a little, you'd know just how important Christmas time is for me. There's always been a magical quality to this time of year - and I DON'T mean the presents and the decorations and the blatant consumerism that invades everyone's minds and thoughts since Nov 1 when the malls begin with the Carols.
I'm talking about a kind of quite but powerful feeling of love and friendship and kinship that though exists all year round, is somehow all that more magnified at this time.

That's just gone.

I've decorated the tree, put up lights, hung up rows of Christmas cards, attended parties and wished friends and family and general strangers on the train "Happy Christmas"

But I still feel empty and very lacking.

More about San Fran

My public demanded, so there are the rest of the trip details:

Day 4, Tuesday Nov 27:

Discovered more little charming things about SFO - like the fact that you can buy transit passes in a Deli store which just happens to be right in the heart of the Castro district! Wandering around 'Frisco's "Man Town" was just a gut wrenching experience for me; All these fine young men all around me and not ONE who'd be interested in giving me a cursory glance even! honestly, moments like that do NO GOOD to a girl's ego!

Walked all over the Mission District and spent a few quite hours wandering around San Francisco's oldest building - Mission Dolores. Built by the Franciscan missionaries in 1791, this little Church that served as a house of prayer and a house of hope for countless has withstood the passage of time and stood firm through not one but two major earthquakes (1906 and 1989) that demolished most of the city.




Met up with Jean at the Asian Art Museum where she works and thanks to her, got in for free and peered around for a bit before closing time.


Day 5, Wednesday Nov 28:

Headed over to the other end of the city to check out the Home of the San Francisco Giants - AT&T Park... formerly known as Bell Pacific Park... formerly known as .....
People really should know better than to name buildings or landmarks after a Corporation. It's painful trying to keep up with who's buying what and who's merged with who etc.
Took a tour of the stadium which is quite new and is a "Classic urban ballpark with an old-time feel and all the amenities of modern ballparks. Inspired by Wrigley Field and Fenway Park and modeled after Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Jacobs Field and Coors Field."


Took my first (of many) Cable car rides from Union Sq. to Grace Cathedral - the beautiful Gothic inspired Episcopal Church that is also the home of the world's first interfaith AIDS memorial chapel.







Day 6, Thursday Nov 29

Tour of Alcatraz Island famous for the State Penitentiary

A quick walk down Fisherman's Wharf - which is really just a Tourist Trap and really quite crass!The sunbathing sea lions are about the only thing worth seeing - and even their incessant barking becomes tedious after the first 3 minutes.


More Cable Car rides and a windy walk down Lombard Street


Discoveries in SF's North Beach district and watching the sun set from the Coit Tower.


Day 7, Friday Nov 30

A long and leisurely walk along Ocean Beach to the start of Golden Gate Park.




A continued walk in Golden Gate Park stopping at the Conservatory


Hot Chocolate and Crepes in the famed Haight-Ashbury district





Day 8, December 1

Drive to Muir Woods with Hemant

Sunset along Pacific Hwy 1

Farewell dinner with Jean, Will and Hemant.


Day 9, Dec 2

Ta Ta San Francisco - it's been swell!

Losing my heart to San Francisco

Day 5 today and I'm having the time of my life in this amazing city. Don't quite have the time to tell all the tales in detail right now - so here is the bullet point version:

Day 1: Saturday, Nov 24:
Woke up with miserable cold
Traveled to SFO
Met Cousin-in Law, H
Went for walk in Belmont
Ate dinner
Researched Napa valley
Went to bed really early as feeling terribly ill!Day 2: Sunday, Nov 25:
Woke up feeling better! (YEY!)
H and I drove up to Napa Valley
Spent the day driving around to vineyards and tasting wine. (Many thanks to nice lady at visitor's centre who gave us loads of free tasting coupons!)
Vineyards visited: Hagaffen Cellers (bought Chardonnay), Rutherford Ranch (bought PinoNoir), lunched at The Market in St. Helenas, Beringer Estates (tour of wine caves, history of the winery and more tasting!), Charles Krug (bought Zinfendel Port)




Drove back to Mr. and Mrs. Diabolic  place in the city. (Mrs. is an old old friend from gowning up in Bombay days)
Checked out their fav Ethiopian restaurant for dinner - AMAZING food and oh-so-yummy honey wine called Tej (sp?) promptly purchased bottle of said wine!
Back to their house for after dinner drinks and lots of chatty chatty!

Day 3: Monday, Nov 26
Mr. and Mrs. D had taken the day off to show me around.
Drove down along the Ocean beach front to Sutro Heights, millionaire Adolph Sutro's legacy to the city.
Walked around gardens overlooking to Pacific Ocean.
Drove to Golden Gate Bridge - parked and walked across bridge - a definitely cool moment!
Headed over to the Palace of Fine Arts - a Greco-Roman look a like building that is surrounded by well landscaped parks and a little lake and some of the most expensive housing in the city!
Took a walk up up up many flights of stairs in the Cow Hollow district - occasionally stopping to catch our breath and to critique the houses we passed. Honestly, there really is NOT accounting for taste!
Feeling quite drained after all that climbing, we stopped off at the Park Chow (9th and Lincoln) for their signature Ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream and Pear, Pecan and Huckleberry cobbler washed down with lemon raspberry Ade and hot chocolate.
Next stop - The Botanical Gardens, part of the Golden Gate park where we stopped to smell the roses and toss around a Frisbee (and effectively work off the calories just consumed!)
Explored some more of the park including Stow Lake, the bandstand, de Yonge Museum (just the outside) and more.
Feeling quite pooped, we headed home and then later out to Rick's Hawaiian Shack for a delish and much deserved dinner.

Stay tuned, more news to follow.

Winter Wonderland

Woke up this morning to a blanket of white over the world - well my part of the world at least! Not that it was a surprise - the weather stations had all been bleating warnings for the past 2 days and anyone who didn't know that the snow was a-coming was in La La Land!


It's been a while since I've seen the white stuff since I was away all of last winter and it never snowed when I was in the UK last December. Stepping out into the frosty morning was really quite delightful - until I realised that all the rain from yesterday had caused little pools of ice all over the driveway - THAT put a hasty stop to my dance of excitement!

Mother and Brother have returned from their Bombay vacation. Sounds like they had a good time. But I must say, they came back with the most boring of goodies - things like bathroom shelves and cooking pots! I come back with Tanjore paintings and Japanese dolls and silk throws and such things; They come back with pots and pans! Well OK, they also did buy a simply lovely table and matching mirror for our front foyer and there WAS a rather nice lot of Swiss chocolates in the 'fridge as well. So maybe not ALL was a washout!

For my very concerned readers, my trip to SF is ON! I finally got my booking confirmed last evening and I'm off early Saturday morn and back Dec 2nd. Everyone has suggested Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf and a trolley ride as the MUST sees/dos so watch out for pics of the above after I'm back.

Can't seem to remember if I mentioned the Fundraiser I was involved with this past weekend. A friend of mine started a Charity - Tempus International - a couple of years ago to raise money for literacy programs for kids in Nepal. I'd helped out with a past project, and when Chris asked if I could be part of the Organizing team for this fundraiser, I jumped at the chance. "Can I Kick It?" - a semi formal event was held at the Bata Shoe Museum this past Saturday and I'm glad to report was a resounding success! Our early estimates show that we have made around a $5000 profit and that figure could go up as we have yet to count donations etc.

But the highlight of the evening was NOT the fact that we sold out,
NOT the fact that the DJs were spinning some pretty amazing tunes,
NOT the fact that people were having a great time and bar sales were Up Up Up.....

Nope - the highlight of the evening was the fact that my pretty new sleek, shiny Cherry Red pumps were simply TERRIFIC and gave my derriere just the right amount of wriggle and made me feel GREAT all night long!

Whattodo? Whattodo?

.... that I'm only 4 days away from my trip to SF and I still don't have a 'plane ticket?

A friend was supposed to give me his "buddy ticket", but after many initial promises and checking of dates etc etc, he is now AWOL.

AND, I've missed all the good deals on tickets as well.

*Gulp*

Riddles

Q: What's more awkward (and painful) than being caught between a rock and a hard place?
A: Attending a Van Halen concert sitting between your CEO and a member of your Company's Board! 


YUP.

That was the strange situation I found myself in last night!


It all started when my VP came scurrying over to me in the afternoon to ask if I were free that night. Caught unawares, I blurted out a yes. Turns out, one of our largest clients Research in Motion (yes, the Blackberry guys) had "booked" the Air Canada Centre for the night and were throwing all of their Ontario employees a huge a** party! Our contact at RIM had scored some extra tickets and was offering them to our Company, and as my VP couldn't go, she offered the tickets to me as I manage that account. And so before I can say "jack", I find myself set to go on an evening out to see a band that I barely know anything about (don't they have a guy called Eddie???) with a bunch of people I know even less (there are BOARD members involved??!!!) and WORST of all - wearing the most un-concert-like outfit ever! (horrid suit that I only wear when all other suits are grimy)


Well - at least I was having a good hair day!


Thankfully we met my RIM contact and some of her team at the Bier Market prior to the show and I found out that Mr. Board Member was actually quite funny and sociable and that my CEO is a total hoot and that everyone else was also wearing suits (granted, not horrid) so things weren't as bad as they could have been.


The opening act was The Tragically Hip and thankfully I did know a few of their songs, so could bop along with the crowd. Van Halen itself was fun even though the only 2 songs I knew were the first and last ones! My CEO at one point leaned over and said "I really liked that last song; But I wish they didn't play it so LOUD". That was the point where I realised that I was at a rock concert with my MOTHER!!


And you KNOW you're among RIM employees when during one of the balard-like numbers, everyone got out their Blackberrys out and waved them around - in lieu of cigarette lighters!

In the end, for an unplanned, unprepared and (initially) unwelcome evening, I managed to have quite a good time!


Q: What's the best part about going to a rock concert with your CEO?
A: Getting permission to come in late the next day!!!

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.