Happy Happy Joy Joy

It may sound ridiculous, but I'm in love with a machine. It has no name as of yet, but soon, very soon, it will have a moniker. I can't keep calling it by it's technical name, that would be stupid.
Ok, that's all for now, we're off to explore the interweb together.

Hanging out, down the street

It's hard to drop a lot of money on a big ticket item and not have the instant gratification of taking it home right away. It's even worse when your credit card company screws you as you attempt to make your payment which therefore delays the initial shipment date by 7 days. Well, finally I've jumped that hurdle after much grief and some help from my dad, and the mythical laptop is now sitting in a Fedex sortation facility 40 km away from my house. It's been sitting there since Thursday evening. Why oh why can't Fedex get their act together and process it if it managed to leave Shanghai on Tuesday, went to Anchorage on Wednesday and was in Memphis AND Mississauga on Thursday. Are they going to send it somewhere else just to torture me? Are they trying to process it through some sort of customs initiation which by default must take 2 agonizing business days? Agh, it's killing me! I just want to play with my new toy, damn it!

So, much of our discussions at work lately have centered around nostalgia by way of pop culture. We have extensively discussed the new Transformers movie that is due out next summer and we are concerned. It's being directed by Michael Bay of Pearl Harbour fame, which is very worrisome. Whenever I hear Michael Bay's name I think of that catchy song from 'Team America: World Police' in which one of the characters laments how shitty his movies always are. It's pretty damn funny, but what the hell does Michael Bay know about Autobots, Decepticons, and the battle for earth? To be honest, I couldn't remember much of the plot and neither could A. even though we both recalled watching it as kids. W., who is a few years older, has a better memory and gave us the rundown on the mythology. However, it might also help that his brother owns the series on DVD and they both still watch it occasionally. It's like the Cult of Transformers. Did you know a few years ago that reproductions of original Transformers toys were released again for collectors? It always seems that everything old is new again. Probably because the cartoons that kids watch today suck compared with what was around in the 70s and 80s.

Oh and one last thought. I saw this article in yesterday's TorStar. Apparently the Tory government loves supporting Canadian students in their pursuit for higher education abroad, especially when they can't get it at home. Student funding seems to be treated with as much respect as anything to do with the environment.
By the way, has anyone noticed that even though the GST dropped 1%, Federal income tax has increased so you actually make LESS money on each paycheque now? Now that's a great tax break Steve. You fucking rock. If I ever had reasons to not vote for you before, well, you keep adding some awesome reasons to the ever increasing list.
By the way, do you have an opinion that isn't expertly coordinated with anything George Bush says? I think you're giving Tony Blair some competition for the brownest nose. I really hope those rumours about the non-confidence vote in the fall are true. The fact that it's tied into the softwood lumber settlement is interesting but since most reactions to your 'settlement' seem to be shock that $1 Billion dollars is still being left in American hands, than perhaps an early Christmas gift to Canada is in the works. Let's all cross our fingers and toes.

Summerlicious

Another week done. This one saw a lot of ass-dragging due to the extreme heat which I complained about in my last post. All of us were feeling it at work and it sucked. I think on Tuesday the weather forecast for the North American continent said it was at least 90 degrees coast to coast (that's all provinces and states folks) and I believe it too. Europe seems to be in the throes of the deep heat wave as well. How's that for a global village suffering together?
We've finished up our Irish sites in Brampton now and we're heading out further west to Orangeville starting on Monday. The commuting just keeps getting longer. At this next job we get to wear safety vests! I love the layering look in the dead of summer.

I'm anticipating the arrival of the mac sometime before the end of summer -- well ideally, in the next two weeks. I had a few setbacks with the payment and my idiotic credit card company which pissed me off to no end. So currently, I have an adapter kit and a care protection plan but no computer to use them with... awesome. And the extra battery is on back order? Is that a bad sign?

In the past week I've gone out for Summerlicious twice which actually makes me happy. It's been a while since I've gone out for a good dinner with some friends. The last time I remember frequently doing this was in Vancouver and I've wanted to try many places in TO since I got home last year. I know it's pretty sad that I haven't exactly gone out that much.

Anyways, to explain, Summerlicious (and Winterlicious for that matter) is a 3-week long event where restaurants all over the city offer a prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner; it usually aims to offer a good sample of a restaurant's fare at a much more reasonable price than you will usually find. There are two price tiers for each meal. Lunches are either $15 or $20 and dinners are either $25 or $35.
This of course allows more people to get out and try places they normally wouldn't go to.
My friend Susan and I tried Flow in Yorkville last Friday night and had an AMAZING dinner. It was a dinner on the pricier side of things and I couldn't afford to ever go there normally unless I had a very generous date, but it was a great place. I had a hunan beef and vermicelli starter, a striploin steak entree, and plantain rolls for dessert. It was very tasty. And had me asleep within an hour of getting home.

Last night, Susan struck up a larger party for another outing to a French restaurant called L'Escargot Bistro in North Toronto. Their menu was cheaper than Flow's, so I was even more excited to try this place. It was casual but had a really nice atmosphere. In retrospect I should have brought my camera for some photos of the food. I tried some snails, which are actually pretty tasty. Of course they had been soaked in a lemon garlic sauce so they reminded me of the consistency of mussels or calamari. If that is what good l'escargots taste like, then I might be willing to try them more often.
This week I went for a lighter starter of a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette, my entree was rosemary chicken and mashed potatoes au jus, and can you guess what my french dessert was? It was creme brulee! Oh god, the simple joy of cracking it open and then the sweetness of the cream was like euphoria. I probably should have gone home to lay down after dinner but somehow we trekked down to Little Italy for martinis at Eat My Martini.
I was a bit reluctant to go at first because Little Italy is office territory for me, although, I find it to be a very vibrant and fun area.
There weren't many remnants of the world cup victory so that was good. Although everyone in our party looked at me like I was crazy when I said I wanted France to win the world cup. So what? I can say that out loud in Little Italy if I want too! It won't make me any friends, but I like to root for underdogs.

Anyways, Little Italy is a good neighbourhood with lots of great little restaurants, bars, and bakeries and then there are the nice boutiques, and my personal favourite, the Motoretta store that sells Vespas. Did you know that Vespa also sells clothing? I guess it's along the lines of a lifestyle concept clothing line, the way BMW and Porsche or Ferrari have done. It seems a bit odd, but I guess they want you to want the gear if you're gonna splurge on the Vespa.
And I suppose I also miss the Home Hardware guy who was like a grandpa and always stopped his Italian chatter with his friends and called me 'bella' when I was running office errands. Yeah, I thought that was pretty random too, but he always has a smile for you on a rough day.
As much as I am sure that long term office life isn't for me, I have to appreciate that at least my company's HQ is in a neighbourhood sandwiched between the Annex, Little Italy, and Kensington Market. It made my lunch an hour of exploration.

Stop, Drop, and Roll

It's too hot to work, too hot to think, too hot to eat, probably too hot to write this post. I should turn off the computer so my room can stay reasonably cool, but my internet addiction pretty much negates that urge. The ceiling fan and A/C just aren't cutting it right now. Perhaps the vents need to be cleaned?
What it really comes down to is that I don't like this shitty weather we're having. Sure it's July, and on the plus side it's technically not that smoggy out, but it's damn hard to breathe or stand still, let alone dig or trowel or even count artifacts without sweating profusely. It's not pleasant.

Also, in the last half hour I've just dropped a lot of money on an expensive computer. I really hope that it works out and we love each other.
And... to top things off, I am still upset about the boy! What the fuck? Apparently he got just a little bit under my skin. I keep telling myself he's nothing special, but I guess I just can't convince myself. I had a horrible dream about it last night, in which, another girl showed up on the scene! For me that qualifies as a nightmare. That just about broke me when I woke up this morning. Well, really, it would have broken him if that were the truth of the matter, because I'd get just a bit... upset.
I don't mean to bitch and moan (oh fuck it, of course I do!) and I am sure I will get over this soon, but so far, even the retail therapy mentioned above hasn't done much for me. Annoyingly pathetic!

The Rabbit is Back!

I was so excited when I first heard that the VW Rabbit was being reintroduced in North America.
On further research, I see that it is just a rebranding of the VW Golf which is the name it will retain outside of North America.
In fact, it seems that the Rabbit was only ever branded for North America, whereas it was always the Golf everywhere else.
Regardless of the confusion, this was my parents first car and the first car that I ever remember being toted around in when I was a baby.
We had our white rabbit until the late 80s I believe... maybe we got rid of it sometime around '86-'87.
But, it still makes me smile every time I think of it.
Welcome home 5th generation Golf/Rabbit! I missed your logo on the streets.

What the Snowwoman Learned about Love

Ok... well the trauma is over. I could write a lot of cliches that people tell you for comfort in these situations, and surprisingly I think a lot of them would actually apply, but I just can't bring myself to put them out there.
The boy and I have chatted again, gotten to the bottom of the issues at hand and while I am still not intensely happy with the way things went down, I can forgive him.
There was profuse apologizing and I think a true understanding has been reached.
He is really one of the nicest people I have met in ages and we will be good friends and who knows what the future might bring?
I guess we both have a lot of decisions and changes to make with our lives in the coming months, so it's probably for the best that we're not together.
At some point I know we'll be crossing paths in Europe and probably more often at home, so it's best to just make the best of it all.

Sour Girl

The six month reunion happened tonight and it went pretty well until the last 15 minutes of our evening. I really should've clued into the verbal clues all night, but hope is blinding. He just wasn't taking my bait. He's protecting himself and I'm putting myself out there... clearly even if you're born 8 hours apart in the same hospital, you're still not THAT much alike.
We are definitely very opposite people but clearly there is an attraction. I just wish he hadn't signed all his emails with x's and o's. What a fucking waste on all accounts. This isn't over in my mind... he's going to have to sit himself down with me and talk this over some more, not in a parking lot with a getaway car at hand. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!!!!!!!!
I am so frustrated, disappointed, hurt, and confused. Holy shit. How can you give someone the metaphorical slap on the side of the head and still have things turn out the way you want?
I just don't know my own life anymore.

I saw it on Craigslist...

Ok, so I try not to be a total softy too often but sometimes I can be caught off my coldhearted guard and think that something is sweet.
I saw this on Craigslist and it's a chain letter but I'm choosing not to post the promises of what happens if you do or don't continue posting this around. Instead, just read the exchange. I know that this situation when it happened to me certainly didn't happen this way, but sometimes I wonder what might have happened if it had.


Boy: I love you more than the air I breathe.
Girl: I'm always here for you.
Boy: I know.
Girl: What's wrong?
Boy: I like her so much.
Girl: Talk to her.
Boy: I don't know. She won't ever like me.
Girl: Don't say that. You're amazing.
Boy: I just want her to know how I feel.
Girl: Then tell her.
Boy: She won't like me.
Girl: How do you know that?
Boy: I can just tell.
Girl: Well just tell her.
Boy: What should I say?
Girl: Tell her how much you like her.
Boy: I tell her that daily.
Girl: What do you mean?
Boy: I'm always with her. I love her.
Girl: I know how you feel. I have the same problem. But he'll never like me.
Boy: Wait. Who do you like?
Girl: Oh some boy.
Boy: Oh... she won't like me either.
Girl: She does.
Boy: How do you know?
Girl: Because, who wouldn't like you?
Boy: You.
Girl: You're wrong, I love you.
Boy: I love you too.
Girl: So are you going to talk to her?
Boy: I just did.

Reality TV vs. Brigitte Neilsen

So, I read on the IMDb gossip page today that Brigitte Neilsen has gotten married to her fifth husband for a second time since the first time they tried to get married was apparently invalid.
Now personally, I don't really care too much about this because it's all fluff, HOWEVER, I always thought that she and rapper Flava Flav were going to get hitched after they hooked up on "The Surreal Life".
I can't believe I just admitted I watched "The Surreal Life" but there you have it. I was a grad student then, clearly mastering my skills of procrastination. And in my defense, I wasn't the only one in my department to watch this because I clearly remember discussing the series with other students before class one day. Obviously a special thanks should go out to Much More Music's quality choices in programming, which are attractive to grad students because they sucked me (and others) in and I watched that mind numbing show which celebrates the madness of D-List celebrities living in a mansion for two weeks.
Anyways, after Brigitte and Flav hooked up on the "S.L.", I think they did another series which followed their bizarro relationship called "Crazy Love". Sadly, I never saw that one. Never got to see drunken Brigitte berate Flav's awful grill of gold teeth again. Tragic.
Anyways, my point is that I thought that series was done fairly recently (although, my sense of the passage of time has been warped in recent months)... but clearly that relationship died quickly.
It's not like it had a chance, but, you always thought to yourself that these two people are so INSANE, that perhaps they ARE meant for each other.
So, now instead it's husband number five for the second time. I hope Brigitte is consuming just as much alcohol as ever (because it's funny when she drinks), and I hope that No. 5 works out for her. Don't you think that alcohol could have been a factor in the first attempt being null and void?
If anything, it seems that Brigitte's entire life could be tailor made for reality tv ridiculousness. She's just that entertaining.

Appalling Italia

Well, that was an appalling end to a game and a career. Zidane headbutting Materazzi and effectively ending his career on a sour note will likely haunt him for the rest of his life. I have to think that an extremely incendiary comment was made because he's usually so good at keeping his cool.
I'm sure he'll feel awful about it all especially when he could have been the difference in the penalty shots.
One thing's for sure, this city is going to be jammed with traffic EVERYWHERE, on top of the roads already closed for 10 festival events this weekend, and not to mention cottage traffic.
How long will Italy lord this victory over the world? Let's not even deign to think about it.

Azzurri vs. Les Bleus

Damn it, this game is turning out to be a bit of a nail-biter! Here's hoping France is going to pull this one out of the bag! (crosses fingers)

In other events, six months is up and the boy is back in town. No contact has been made as of yet, but perhaps soon enough. It makes me a bit fidgety to think about it all -- my old friend Melissa would classify me as twitterpated right now.
I am ridiculous.

Anyhow, perhaps I'll be back after this game is over...

Vancouver from False Creek

Just found this incredible photo of False Creek on Flickr.
To give credit where it's due, it was taken by a user named Jawcey.
Check it all out on Flickr if you dare!

vancouver from false creek
Originally uploaded by jawcey.

Canada Day #139

Happy birthday, Canada! You're 139 years young, sort of. The dominion is anyway.
Can you believe it's July 1st, again, already even? This year is flying by much too quickly. At times that makes me happy but other times it makes me kind of nauseous.
School is coming much too quickly, the long days of summer I longed for all winter are now past their halfway point and I am mad at myself for not getting more of the shit I want to do, done.
Most days, my crew is out in Brampton digging a slew of Irish homesteads. Currently we're at a farm investigating the first log cabin from 1837, built by Irish settlers, famine dodgers I believe. The family that is on the farm currently is only the second family to own the property since it was granted by the Crown to the original Irish family in the 1830s. Alas, they too have been bought out after five generations and they are taking their farm operation north of Barrie, probably pocketing a nice chunk of change in the process. In the past week, we've watched many of their outbuildings be dismantled and then on Thursday we watched the 150 year old barn get pulled down. It's kind of heartbreaking to watch it all happen, and I'm not even remotely attached to these people or their farm. I just think it must be extremely hard to leave a place that your family has owned for over 125 years. However, I can only assume that they've been approached for years by developers and the last offer was the one they couldn't refuse. I guess that's life, and the continuing crawl of suburbanization calling.

On a completely unrelated note, wasn't England's loss to Portugal kind of heartbreaking today? I haven't really liked Portugal's team since their ridiculous antics against the Netherlands last week. I feel that England put up a damn good fight today with only 10 players, no Beckham, and no Rooney (aka Shrek, as Jen once told me the British press have likened him to).
Thank god Hargreaves scored on his penalty goal, albeit just barely. I sent him goodwill Canadian thoughts, it being Canada Day after all. Maybe the Brits will lighten up a bit on him. He did try to set up some good shots, which other players couldn't complete. I guess in the end, it just wasn't enough. It's just not been a good tournament for England overall.

And one last thought, or plea really. Please don't listen to that awful Paris Hilton song "Stars are Blind". Even if you can justify that it may have a good summery reggae beat, even that happens to be played on repetition throughout the entire song because apparently she cannot sing/breathe heavily (or whatever noise that is coming out of her mouth) above a certain note (not even an octave!). Not to mention the lyrics are stunningly awful. The first and ONLY time I dared listen to it on the radio, the DJ was stunned speechless after he aired it. He literally had nothing to say, and so wisely chose not to say anything. Yes, it is THAT GOOD. Please don't give more over-exposure to the twig called Paris Hilton. It's just wrong.