Sugar Shack

The weekends pass by far too quickly, even when you leave work over an hour early on Friday.
Gosh and I have determined that we spend way too much money when we shop together and then we went to Kortright on Sunday to take part in the Maple Sugar Festival and to do some hiking on the trails. It was a beautiful day and was a complete throwback for me to my childhood when my parents would take my sister and I to various parks and conservation areas for some "air" as they would tell us. The disappointing thing is that development has invaded the surrounding area by Kortright... huge monster homes with about 2 square feet of grass in front and back. All this progress disgusts me.
Even in my own neighbourhood, two 35 storey condominiums are going to be built in the next few years which is upsetting because that is unnecessarily high and will steal the privacy from overhead that my neighbourhood currently enjoys. Apparently the Ontario Municipal Board which is evil and development happy considers any part of the city with a subway line as "downtown", which is absolutely ridiculous. I mean I would prefer development happen in the city moreso than stealing farmland, which those big monster homes in the 905 do, but at the same time 35 storeys (which is an improvement from the original 40-storey plan) is fucking ridiculous. It's going to overload the population of the area more than it already is, put added pressure on an already crumbling transit system, increase traffic on all thoroughfares, and make life ridiculously hellish. There are no resources in place to support this population boom once it moves in. Does this seem incredibly backwards??? Well, that's because it is.
There was a time when I absolutely loved the neighbourhood I grew up in and I still do, but as more people move away and the area is changing, I am able to see that in time I will want to escape, although you can't outrun development or "progress" as they call it, anymore.
When you fly over Toronto, you really get the best perspective of what urban sprawl really means. It's hard to believe this city started out as a 10-block grid by the lakefront and now it's threatening to eat up every available resource that made it an attractive settlement in the first place. Even when I read books about the historic homes of Toronto and historical sites within the city, it's quite clear that the Toronto my grandparents knew is a completely different city than the Toronto that I know. Hell the Toronto I know is completely different than what I knew as a child.
I can't believe how many ravines have been flattened out and how many streams have been paved over. If this is the way Toronto is, no wonder the earth is screaming out to all 6 billion of us on the planet... because in the end people are kind of a scourge.
I'm sorry for the negative reflection of this post, but on some days I am just totally disheartened with the state of my little corner of the world, the problems of which are totally insignificant to other world issues.

So, now for a complete 180 and some trivial fun, Gawker now has a feature called Gawker Stalker where New Yorkers can post their celebrity sitings and it will be marked on a Google map. It makes me laugh because some of the entries are just amusing to read. Hell, they could all be embellished and it wouldn't matter but if you're looking for distracting frivolity, it's a quick read. The recent entries on Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Esposito, and Erika Christensen had a little extra commentary at the end that made me have to suppress my giggles here at the front of the fishbowl.

Smushed Dufflet

E. and I went down to 'Prague Fine Food Emporium' on Queen St. today for lunch and since we were in the neighbourhood we took a little detour to Dufflet.
I bought a rather expensive small pastry and they wrapped it in a box for me and I lovingly carried that damn thing back to the office and of course it was perfect all afternoon but got smushed on the way home.
I was going to take an artsy photo of it when it was perfect but now you get to view what I called 'Smushed Dufflet' instead.
I will now also proceed to cram it pitifully into my mouth before dinner. Why am I breaking the "don't spoil your dinner" rule that was pounded into my skull as a child? Because I have a monster headache that I've had all afternoon (I should have left work early but that is my own stupidity) and I just want to eat this damn thing once and for all. I don't even know what it's going to taste like; I chose it for it's artful design. It does have a coffee bean on top if that is any indication of what might be to come. I'll let you know in a minute....

3 min. later:
Oh my god... that was heaven... it was light, crispy, chocolatey, creamy, and damn well tasty! Those are the kinds of treats I would hope to have at a wedding, perhaps my own if that should ever happen. This smushed Dufflet (real name unknown) is highly recommended!

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Oh-ay-sis

Last night's concert was ridiculously good, especially since the last time I saw Oasis must have been when I was 17 or 18 and I only have vague recollections of enjoying it. I should pull out my journals and see what I wrote of them then.
When I told people recently that I was going to see Oasis I got a lot of 'Why?' reactions but Oasis is just one of those bands that I adored in high school and believe it or not, they are even more on top of their game now than ever before. My sister was especially excited to see them since her obsession began about 10 years ago and she had never gotten the opportunity to go and see them live. We also realized that going to see Oasis is a goldmine for looking at hot guys... we enjoyed the eye candy immensely.
The openers, the Arctic Monkeys, are the British band of the moment (and we all know how fleeting that reputation is) but they are genuinely good. They rock as hard as Oasis but their songwriting style is completely different so they aren't just a reflection of their headliner the way most opening bands seem derivative of the main act. I really enjoyed seeing them and if I had the money I would go see their show tonight, but I consider yesterday's gig as a two for one deal.
I have some pretty good photos of the Gallaghers and the A.M.'s that I will post a bit later, but for now you will just have to imagine them.
The most annoying thing about the concert was the couple sitting to my left who managed to sneak a friend of theirs into our row. Our row was assigned seating on the floor so this was just irritating since all seats were allotted for and he clearly did not have a ticket for our section. At one point I got so pissed off with being crowded for my seat that when I went to the bathroom I let the usher know there was an impostor but I guess he chose the perfect time to take a hike for the rest of the show. However, that couple proceeded to get stupid drunk and shriek like idiots for most of the show. At one point the guy picked up his girlfriend and was waving her around like she was a flag. In the cramped space that is floor seating, this was supremely annoying. Eventually they just settled into making out with each other which was far easier to ignore. I was so happy when they took off before the encore... in fact I think most people in the vicintiy of witnessing their antics were relieved.
It never fails that I am always seated near a couple that feels the need to make out or grope each other like it's the end of the world and this is their last night together, at a concert. It must be the alcohol and the euphoria ... it's almost a really good reason to not go to concerts with your significant other if you are going to be like that yourself.

Ok well, I am going to post my Oasis pics on Flickr and you can view them at this url: www.flickr.com/photos/dmcg
I'm also going to save this link in my sidebar for future reference.
I tried organizing my photos into groups yesterday and realized that with the free account you only get 3 free groupings and like 300 free photos to host which has me really starting to consider purchasing the pro account for $25 a year. However, I'll hold back for now and see how many photos I really want to share with the public. It may be less than 300 but I suspect that there will be much more photo taking in the coming months so... we'll just see.

First Day of Spring

My friend, don't just there and ruminate
With your navel to contemplate
It's a beautiful day outside
Time's passing you by...

Anyone out there (mainly Canadians, although I'd be impressed if someone from another country knew of them) remember the Gandharvas? Their song 'First Day of Spring' popped into my head as I was writing today's entry title and I started wondering whatever happened to them. I mean obviously they got sucked into the indie blackhole and never clawed their way out again, but really... in high school that song was on the radio ALL THE TIME. Anyways, given that today at 1:15pm, the first day of spring starts, thinking of the Gandharvas is somewhat appropriate. They are known in Hinduism as the male spirits of the air, forest, and mountains, as well as mates to the female Apsaras - spirits of nature. All kind of fitting for today and the coming weeks when hopefully this part of the world will start shaking off it's winter gloom. The days are already noticeably longer and sunnier, so I'm happy.

On Friday I realized that I've developed a habit of dozing on the TTC during my commute home in the late afternoon. For the most part I stay awake on the Bloor and Yonge lines, but something about the Sheppard line just makes me sleepy. I suppose if there were any time to close your eyes on the subway it is at least on the line that I travel to the very end so I never miss my stop. It's also weird how you can close your eyes for 30 seconds on the subway and you might not even be at the next station yet but when you open your eyes again it feels like you were just passed out for half an hour. I've got to stop hanging out underground so much...

In the past ten days, I've developed an obsession with Flickr. I've always wanted to find a public domain to post my photos for friends to see, but never got around to finding one I've liked. Then I took notice of Flickr after hearing some co-workers and friends rave about it, and I saw all the beautiful photos that people post on it and it's like a giant celebration of creativity. I can't help but check out the site everyday to see what photos have made the 'Interestingness' category. I also browse random words to see what comes up and save my favourites to a folder... perhaps someday I will create a collage out of the ones I like best. One girl here at work creates a Flickr collage for her desktop wallpaper and I think she may have made herself a calendar as well. Maybe that is someone else...
Anyways, if you're a friend of mine, at some point I will email you the link to my stuff when I have finished posting the photos I want to put up. I just love the overall community of it... there's a contacts page to add your friends to, Flickr mail for messaging people, forums where people can post photos and talk about them or discuss camera types and different photography/editing techniques. It's kind of educational in a way...
I'm also trying to be proactive and learn more about manipulating my way through Photoshop, which is not at all intuitive by the way. I really like the idea of getting creative with editing photos and designs, but sometimes the thought of sitting down for hours to play around is a bit daunting. Maybe someday this blog will become a reflection of my untapped artistry rather than using this bland template. It's something to consider.

Well, here in Toronto, British invasion week begins today. Michaela and I are off to see Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys tonight. Tomorrow James Blunt is in town (still don't have a ticket and likely won't get one since it's a sold out show and people are trying to make profits by selling them above face value on Craigslist and Ebay), Wednesday and Thursday is the Coldplay-a-thon with Richard Ashcroft as the opener. I am not going to see Coldplay because I saw this tour last June, but I suppose the exciting thing is that they are recording one of the concerts for a DVD release. It never seems like Canada gets chosen for music DVD venues... so I suppose at least that is something new. I imagine that if you walk around the right parts of town this week, you won't be able to walk for tripping over the invading Brits. We'll see though... I don't get out much during the week. I'm taking my camera to the show tonight... pics to be posted at a later date... I kind of feel obligated to bring the camera when I have 10th row seats. It's really a wonder the Gallaghers haven't killed each other yet.

On a completely different side note: UBC has attracted a Nobel laureate to its faculty... very impressive. I suppose UBC would be quite pleasant if you had millions of dollars of funding, but if you belong to a poor department, forget it. You're just slogging through the rain with the rest of the down and outs.

St. Patrick - Patron Saint of Ireland... and Nigeria

Someone told me today that St. Patrick, being the patron saint of Ireland is also the patron saint of Nigeria. I confirmed this fact through Wikipedia, but kept in mind that someone could easily have made that up and posted it -- that being both a blessing and a curse for Wikipedia.
The entry does interestingly note that Nigeria was primarily evangelized by Irish missionaries so I guess St. Patrick still only managed to run snakes out of one nation and was only adopted by the other.
I had a beer at lunch and to be honest I am about ready to put my head down on this keyboard and pass out. I felt ridiculously tired yet energetic this morning and just before lunch, my head was starting to ache. I have no doubt that the beer has only helped remedy these symptoms, don't you?

Yesterday was finally my day for field work. The day was sunny and somewhat mild for March although I was wearing long underwear which did a wonderful job of keeping me warm and the wind did pick up a bit in the afternoon. The field was a big muddy slip and slide which made the surface collection a little challenging at times, but it got done. We also determined that the ground is still frozen, as if logic hadn't told us this beforehand... we had to through a shovel in it for the sake of saying we attempted to dig rather than actually digging in such conditions. No one should have to do ACTUAL fieldwork in March, but I suppose the client is a bit antsy. Actually it made me feel sick when I heard what was being built on our site... I'll give you a few clues.
1.) It is the subject of a recent documentary that circulated through screenings held in private homes and then having the copy of the movie passed on to someone else.
2.) It is the bane of rural and suburban North America
3.) It has a snivelling smiley face logo
4.) It is an E-V-I-L empire of discount
....
....
....
If you guessed Walmart, then you would be correct. The only way I could comfort myself was to laugh at the unfortunate view that the tenants of the brand new condos north of the site will have when Walmart is occupying their scenic panorama of parking lot, tractor trailers, and the sparkling Sea of Pavement.
As if the world needs another fucking Walmart.

A soothsayer bids you beware of the Ides of March

Ides \YDZ\, plural noun:
In the ancient Roman calendar the fifteenth day of March, May, July, and October, and the thirteenth day of the other months.
Ides comes from Latin 'idus', probably from an Etruscan wordmeaning "division" of a month.

If you choose to calculate by our modern calendar system then today is approximately 2050 years since Caesar was assassinated in the Portico of the Theatre of Pompey in Rome. What a decisive action and reaction that caused...

Already today has started out weird. Again, fieldwork was called off and I am at the office instead. I hate being 'on call' like this because it just causes chaos for my morning routine.

Dashed Hopes

The weekend was so lovely and temperate that I slept with my windows open all night but today I woke up to torrential rain, a thunderstorm, and the dreaded phone call that I wouldn't be working in the field today. It was the one thing I had looked forward to all weekend -- not starting the week in the office.
As a result of the hope of fieldwork I went to bed late last night because I was pulling out all my field clothes. It's always easier to go to work tired if you are digging than it is to show up feeling like crap (and looking like it) to the office. At least on the way to work in the summer there is a guaranteed half hour or more car ride and a stop along the way at a coffee shop. No such thing today, and to top it off I had no subway tokens or the cash to buy any.

Beauty in the Breakdown

Whitby,North Yorkshire

It's funny how circumstances lead you to the most bizarre interests. I don't talk about this much with anyone, but ever since my mother died when I was in high school, I have harboured a mild obsession with death and the past. I don't want to die and don't have suicidal thoughts and the like, but I just seem to gravitate towards an interest in memorials of the dead, monuments (tombs, mausoleums, cemeteries, churchyards), stories of haunted places, churches, etc.
Being interested in archaeology and history helps to feed this insatiable interest more than you can possibly know. Every time we work at a site that has an abandoned house, I always feel a strong desire to go inside and see the rooms that these people lived in, that is, if the site is linked with the original owners of the house in anyway.
Recently at work the company was hired to do an assessment of a family mausoleum that had been discovered on property which was the once the home of a very prominent early Toronto family. Of course the majority of the land is a subdivision now and has been for many years, but the demolition of a more modern house revealed the tomb. There were no bodies inside -- they had been removed to Mount Pleasant in the 1920s, a wish expressed in a will from the last living family member that if the property fell out of the family's possession, the bodies would be removed to a new family mausoleum in an established cemetery.
The weird thing is that from the 1920s until now, the location of this family mausoleum had been lost even though historical archives recorded it's presence on the original property. I guess it's not that hard to lose track of something in 80 or so years, especially with a subdivision subsequently built on the land. More than anything, this story made me realize how much history I don't know about my own city.
For the rest of the year I resolve to become a tourist at home. I'll sign up with Heritage Toronto to get a membership and free access to historical sites, and I'll just go around to these places when I want to. You can join me if you want or maybe follow my little odyssey in photos; there will definitely be photos.
However, for the time being to end this post by coming full circle, I've been trawling Flickr for the past hour looking at interesting photos of cemeteries and graves and this one caught my eye. It's just... beautifully haunting.

A Crapulous Life

I'm proud to say that today I managed to go to the gym before noon and have a full workout... while still drunk. It was much harder than usual to exercise as you can probably imagine and I think dehydration may have played a factor in the troubles, but what can you do?
When I went out last night I knew there would be drinking, I just didn't realize it was going to be an all out bender, complete with being teased mercilessly by the guys, free shots of jagermeister from the bartender, and ending the evening (before passing out) by partaking in some drunken dialling -- which by the way, I do not recommend if you do not want to make an ass of yourself. My apologies to those involved in my debauchery. I am an idiot.
Fuck, drunken dialling, what the hell was I thinking? I should NEVER have gotten a cell phone. I think I am just beginning to realize the horror of what took place. Oh my god, I think I am going to go hang my head in shame over the porcelain now.

Maybe I slept too long and missed the game and now you're gone

Good things about today: It's Friday which I might add has taken it's sweet time to arrive, it's warm out, and it smells like spring.

Bad things about today: I woke up with a splitting headache and I don't want to be at work because I feel that in this state I would benefit more by being curled up in my bed. However, I can't just skip work on a Friday because it means that I have completed a full work week and I only have to get through all of next week to have a full paycheque for this two week period.
Yes, I do have to coach myself through the work week so that I don't take any pity days for myself. Pathetic I know. Also a sign that confirms what I sort of already knew... I am not destined to be a full time office worker.

I was listening to the Delays on the subway today which was actually the perfect music to be listening to this morning. To me, the music is kind of melancholy but with a bit of hope laced throughout. A good band for a rainy spring day. I love when my iPod (henceforth referred to as Podkin) is on random and manages to throw out a great random sampling of my playlist. Those are good commuting days.
I've been thinking lately that the object of my next good purge should probably be my cd collection. I have so many, a lot of which I haven't listened to since high school. I doubt I will give away a lot, but some just deserve to leave. They were awful impulse buys from the days when I wasn't as tuned into my musical tastes as I am now. I've probably mentioned that 90% of the time I can successfully buy a cd I like based on only hearing a song or two. But that other 10% of the time which doesn't work out will probably consist of my selling pile. There are a few stores around here that claim to buy ANY used cd in good condition, so I think it's time to test that. I have some pretty embarassing stuff to unload and I might as well try and make a profit so I can go out and buy different music. It's worth a try anyways.

Cyanide & Happiness

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

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Oscar Aftermath - Who Will Survive and What Will Become of Them

Not that I needed the Oscars to confirm this, but Jon Stewart is obviously way smarter than 99.9% of Hollywood. I guess there was a lot of squirming in the seats when his jokes were obviously hitting too close to home. Oh well, that just signals that it's time to down another gin and tonic then, messieurs et mesdames.
I thought he was relatively composed and didn't say half as much as he could have about some of the antics that went down.
But one of my favourite moments was definitely this one:
"Just to clarify, Martin Scorsese: 0 Oscars; Three 6 Mafia: 1 Oscar"

Oh and in "Centre of the World" news, Toronto is going to become one big Wi-Fi hotspot. I kid you not.

Slooooow Moooootion

Today is taking forever to pass by. The office is dead, I am walking around it in a daze. I want to read my book but that is just not what I get paid to do and since I am not protected by a cubicle, everyone can see what I am up to.
Gosh and I are going to try and get some more Dave Matthews tix for a show in June. It could be the last time I see him for a while so this is our last DMB concert for an unforeseen amount of time.
Can you believe it's already March? January and February passed by in a blur of grey skies and wandering temperatures. Soon enough field season will be upon us. The 6 month countdown to England starts this month too... question of the year: will I be able to afford tuition & living expenses for Year One by September? Somehow things have got to work out, I hope. There are days when I look forward to it immensely and others when I just have a total panic attack over how inadequate I feel. Can I prove to myself and others that I have the mind to produce a good thesis and overall contribution to the world of Roman archaeology? I suppose only time will tell. I think I am mostly worried about two things. Firstly, I worry that all the money I have so far invested will have gone to waste in the end and secondly, I worry that I won't be good enough to have the career I want, doing something I truly love.
If there is any word to describe my twenties so far it would be "uncertainty". It's funny how you can know things are so right for yourself but at the same time be entirely uncertain of how it's all going to work out in the end. The stupid thing is that things have gone along as planned so far, but the anxiety is still there. Paranoid much?

On another note, why is it that cats always puke right where you hope they won't? Yesterday evening, one of the terrible trio coughed up their dinner right in the middle of the upstairs hall landing, on white carpet. It was hard for me to figure out who did it since all three were skulking around it like it might be a good idea to gobble the mess back up again. I have my suspicions on who it was, but frankly I was preoccupied with cleaning it up as quickly as possible and then cleaning the carpet. Those cats are quite amusing lately. Mika, who has always had a voracious obsession with food has been declared overweight by the vet and must lose 3 pounds. Stanley and Kia, who are at decent weights however, have now somehow developed the same food obsession as Mika.
In an even more bizarre development, Kia now lifts her front paw in the same manner as Stanley, who only ever did it to begin with because Mika bit his paw last year and then he limped around on it for a while. This activity pre-dates Kia's arrival although Stanley has kept up the habit of lifting his paw when he sits down so she has seen him behave this way.
It seems as if all their personalities are warping together into one massive cat personality that could destroy our house if it got out of hand. If that should happen I think I should publish mugshots just in case they get crazy. Photos of the criminals will be posted later today. I don't think Kia has made her photo debut on here yet, so that could be something to celebrate.