The Grind

Helloo my lovelies, what a day it has been. I haven't worked a full work day in weeks and today and again tomorrow, I'm downtown (like Petula Clark sang) working my buns off. Today I arose with the sun (which is early since it's summer) and was mercifully driven into the city by my boss (read: uncle). Also a plus was that his new car has a month trial of satellite radio (my new favourite thing) and we listened to BBC1 all the way! The day however took a turn for the worst when I realized that in my rush to get out the door I had forgotten my water bottle, a book, anything to keep me sane during the long waiting hours between focus groups... Tomorrow I will make sure I gets that shiz organized. By 1pm I felt like I was part of the Sartre play No Exit, only instead of of Ines, Garcin and Estelle, It's Me, Myself and I in my own personal hell - trapped with no window or brain stimulus. By the end of the day I was so frazzled that I walked down the wrong way to the subway and said aloud: "... - THE EFF? Why does Yonge all of a sudden only go Northbound from Bloor?!" Shamefaced, I had to look at a map of the subway on the wall then walk back up and to the other side. Then I sat for an extended period of time on my car while all the 'on-the-ball' commuters popped off the train at Union. I had totally not heard the announcement and only jumped off and shimmied out of the train when I caught a glimpse of a Union Station sign. embarrassing! The only thing worse than not knowing where your going while travelling 'round Toronto at rush hour is looking like you don't know where you're going. Being from suburbia, I have everything to prove - being me - I fail (but not always, let's not get crazy)! -3 hour interlude- and just got back from schooling William's remedial server - I think I gave him enough sassafrass (was just a plant, now is my go-to word for attitude/sass) to last him for the week. bedtime for me, May not be able to post for a while due to the vacay, but we'll see...

Love this song, was playing as we motored into Toronto this morning, how appropriate:

Iglu & Hartly- In This City:

True Garbage, more like

So I watched True Blood last night. *Hands on hips/furrowed brow* What the hell was that?!? I have been praising this show from the beginning, but this season has been exceptionally underwhelming. NOTHING HAPPENED - AGAIN! pfft. I am sick of them dragging out boringness and I am soooooo sick os Sookie. Worst leading woman in the history of HBO - In the name of all things holy please get ON with the Marianne story line and get back to regular old vampiric debauchery ... thank you. Sincerely a loving fan. Hey maybe if I actually send them a 'disappointed/irate' letter they'll send me first season DVDs. Hey, it worked with Williams Coffee Pub, it might work with HBO, no?

P.S. more Lafayette and Jessica, stat.

Panda Lily

Soooo cute! Just listening to some Lily Allen, reading some blogs and books and generally passing the day away with the least amount of effort possible.

Listen to 22 and Chinese with me below.

London Town Dwelling

Waaaaaaaaant. *makes grabby hands*

Images from Fresh Home

Top 3 ... Favourite Chick Flicks!

Oh chick flicks. Best. Movies. Ever. I was reading a couple of review highlights for The Ugly Truth and it got me thinking ... so this movie is supposed to be terrible and most of the chick flicks I've seen lately are terrible, but what are my favourites? I watch a lot of movies so the task of selecting just 3 for my list will be a challenge, but I'll narrow it down to recent (80s-today) and strict chickflick: no "action", no "mystery" just good old fashion lurvvvv: here goes... in no particular order:

1) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Why?

I don't care what the haters say, Kate Hudson is somuchfun to watch on screen in her cutesy roles and

this one is a delight! It has an utterly preposterous setup in which two people are thrust together on a bet, but it is hilarious and the close are nice!

2) Pretty Woman

Why?

Youngish Richard Gere, toothy Julia Roberts, scene with Roxette's Must Have Been Love playing while the heroine rides away in a limo - fantabulous.

3) Bridget Jones' Diary

Why?

This is one of my most favourite movies of all time and I just

cannot pick out any example of what is best about it - its just amazing in every way possible! Possible even better than the book (I know, blasphemous) Bridget it was one my favourite characters both on film and paper. heart.

Queen's on Jezebel

See story Here

Ugh. A big thanks to the commentor who once again saw fit to slap a careless label on the school and re-enforce the misguided and by this point, trite idea that Queen's is a "cesspool of oppression." That's really a helpful way to classify an institution and the people within it ... makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. barf. And here I was lauding the clever and insightful comments found under Jezebel stories ...

21 Accents

Oh how fancy! 21 different accents all by one lady. I do take issue with the accent supposedly from Toronto - I know of no one who speaks that way in the GTA. Maybe if you head up north in Ontario, or to rural Alberta, or more likely the East Coast you'll have better luck ... which conveniently reminds me of a topic that I forgot to blog about months ago:

The Week the Women Went on CBC was a reality/documentary that aired on CBC last year and the year before that, I believe. And it is pretty great. I've not lived in small town Canada, but I can confidently say I don't want to given the examples of domestic life this show presents... have a look see for yourself: http://www.cbc.ca/thewomenwent/

Afternoon Delight

Just sitting here, drinking tea, trying to drag my eyes away from my computer long enough to engage in reading one of the couple of novels I've started recently and letting my itunes library play on shuffle. This song popped up and I thought: "oh how delightful. I haven't heard you in what must be close to a year. heart."

Rufus Wainwright ft. Dido - I Eat Dinner (When the Hunger's Gone)

Also, settled on the bed I want for life: from Vioski

A Good Read

I'm now on GoodReads!

Check out what I've read, am reading, and hope to read in the future Here or click on the link under ELSEWHERE in the sidebar. Also in the sidebar, check out my virtual bookshelf for what I've read and how I've rated it! Read on!

Window Shopping

Today will be the second day I spend all day inside with nothing to do. Yesterday I filled the hours cleaning the house top to bottom (in reverse) and reading. But now with all the cleaning done I'm left with nothing to do. The heavens have opened up with a diluge of rain and I've no car so I am pretty much trapped within these four walls (which are then subdivided but that is of no matter). So what do I do when there is nothing to be done? I online shop. Well, I perform the equivalent of online window shopping, with the goal of simultaneously finding loads of things I want, no, Need and not buying any of it. Here are some of the things I'm coveting as I type: "Ditch the Car" poster by Nikki McClure, Tiffany Crown key pendant in silver (oh I've wanted one forever - dare to dream), sugarplum flat by Volatile, tye dye wallet by Loop, wall decals, yellow satin pumps by Emilio Pucci, and Three Keyboard playing cat ... not really but highlarious all the same...

(oops! how did this get here?! =D)

I must say I'm surprised Michael K from Dlisted has not pounced on that Three Keyboard Playing Cat Tshirt ....

Prophetic Design

This seems like a bad idea to me.

The only thing I see coming out of this is some sort of warped self fulfilling prophesy.

He's from Belgium, Not France

"Hercule Poirot. The greatest detective of all." ~ Vicky Smith

"Agreed" ~ Me

from: http://www.vickysmithisnice.co.uk

Bad Ad

Sexist? - Yes.

Hilarious? - Yes!!!

Mogg etc.

It's Friday and for the second day in a row I've not had to work at all - this is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I have no responsibilities and can do whatever my heart desires. A curse because I can't actually do anything I want, in fact there is not much I can do I am pretty much stuck inside. So I've watched an episode of Gangland, read a bit, dyed my hair fiery red, and am currently listening to 94.7 Wave Jazz. Yeah, jazz: I used to hate jazz, but this is smooth jazz which is in a completely different category from regular jazz. plus there is the added bonus that I have never heard any of the music I'm listening to now. Also currently flicking through pages and pages of the Mogg Blogg laughing periodically, cringing just as often ... the pictures are some of my favourite crazy designs I've looked at so far today =D

Google Chrome Incognito

So I finally broke down and downloaded Google Chrome - and I like it a lot! I didn't have any real opinion about it, positive or negative, before downloading - my main reason for holding off everytime I saw it advertised on my own Google homepage was that I just don't need any more 'stuff' on my computer. It runs slow enough already, thank you very much. But Google Chrome is very simplified and doesn't have a lot of junk at the top and bottom of a browser window. My favourite part of it, however, is the Incognito window you can use: not for what it is, but for it's description. I was searching around the tools, etc. of Chrome and I was obviously curious about what this incognito thing was so I opened it up and this delightful list came with it:

Going incognito doesn't affect the behavior of other people, servers, or software. Be wary of:

• Websites that collect or share information about you
• Internet service providers or employers that track the pages you visit
• Malicious software that tracks your keystrokes in exchange for free smileys
• Surveillance by secret agents
• People standing behind you

I hope everyone can see how hilarious that last bullepoint is ... Happy Friday!

Pearl & Frankie

EPISODE 1: Pearl, in Italy, coaxes Frankie into yet another argument....

Pearl (p): she's my kinda lady
Frankie: lol ... wait what about ME bitch
Pearl: well you're ok i guess i am so tired
Frankie: just OKAY?!?! Omg that is such a KATE thing to say
Pearl: haha - ugh of course even iNTERNATIONALLY we have problems - ughh
Frankie: well ... you think I don't realize why you signed up for this G8 stuff in the first place??? You Think I Can't Tell when i'm being AVOIDED ... internationally!?
Pearl: you just cant let go of that CAN YOU?
Frankie: I'm sorry but it has to be said
Pearl: sigh, eye roll
Frankie: no, not when you are macking on every Italian boy who prances past with greasy hair and a questionably strong body odor
I KNOW YOU
I KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE
I KNOW YOUR TYPE
and i've known from the beginning that I'm not it
but still i TRIED!
I TRIED TO MAKE IT WORK for
me
for you
for .... US ... and aaden obviously... but you've gone off gallivanting to some god forsaken place while I am left to work two jobs (day: market research, evening: clothed-stripper) carting AAden around with me because I can't afford daycare - and even if i could - you know how he is, he can't help but showboat his intelligence and it hurts the other children!
Pearl: omg HILARIOUS i am laughing out loud shit
Frankie: oh of course - my HEART is hilarious to you ...meanwhile i'm back on the sauce and AAden has taken to ketamin and peach schnapps ... yes AA-den: because i've enrolled him in AA ... because he's a DRUNK - just to get your attention *sobs*
Pearl: Oh no you cannot and WILL not place this all on me
i am here ALL DAY (REPEAT: ALL DAY) researching and drinking endless cappuccinos to provide for your drunk ass
Frankie: i never thought my life would turn out like this ... *gets up - paces about the room - looks in the mirror - screams "WHY?!?!"- sits down - puts on Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" - rocks back and forth to the beat staring into the middle distance contemplating the purpose of her life
Pearl: OMG CANT STOP LAUGHING ...eat time,gotta go be right back
Frankie: pfft providing - if you mean giving me a $5 a week allowance
for clothes and misc. necessities
when you KNOW "bowel Buddies" cost 15 bucks alone - song changes to Area Codes by Ludacris - remembers that this was suppose to be their first dance at their wedding ... until Pearl decided that she wasn't emotionally mature enough to make the M-commitment....
message pops up:
Pearl is busy. You may be interrupting.

Mid Summer Goalatude Check In

It's been a little while since i've updated my progress with my Goalatude updates. Unfortunately I've come to the inevitable realization that I will not be able to achieve all my goals - and that gives me the sads. So let's do a Mid-Summer run down of what I've achieved for each so far...

1) Meet a Gregor ... yeah this is the impossible one ... and I can confirm it IS from a lack of trying - I don't even know where to begin - If a Grego happens to come across this blog, let me know and I'll count you.

2) Read 7 1/2 books - I have read 4 1/2 so far and will definitely be able to read 3 more so this one is not in danger of falling by the way-side. Books I've recently read: Almost Moon, Regency Buck, Bath Tangle (that's the 1/2 - I do plan on finishing it). Book I'm reading now: Northanger Abbey.

3) Re-Learn French .... ya, well if you count watching copious amounts of Poirot as exposure to French then I'm doing QUITE well! If not, things are dismal - I have even let my Coffee Time French podcasts go unlistened too. Maybe I'll do one today.

4) Get Outside: FABULOUS - I am outside almost everyday! Just today I biked to work, then the gym, then home with Kiki and chilled outside. and on monday I went for a long walk with Kiki and Ben!

5) National Geographic ... reading interesting articles as they come. check!

6) Save Money ... well I haven't spent everything I've earned ... so that counts right?!

7) Find a Craft: Completed x2!!! I finished a tin of coffee the oher day and thought "Now someone on the internet must have thought of something clever to use these for!" And they have! This Blog had the wonderful suggestion of covering the tin with paper (which I have left over from my cereal box magazine holder) and use it to hold knick knacks such

as nail polish - perfect and oh so easy! I'll defo make another for a pencil holder when I finish my next tin of coffee (soon)

8) Expand Vocabularly: I think I've done okay with this! I've definitely started saying retard more often (since seeing The Hangover). I've been taking note of Google's word of the day. I used the word pilfer instead of steal in a sentence the other day ... yes I think this Goalatude is coming along nicely. Also have been steering clear of suspicinouns.

9) Listen to CDs: I've been listening to Kings of Leon, New Pornographers, Arcade Fire, Duffy and MGMT in the car when not listening to my own mixes. I've been making the conscious decision not to listen to my Killers, Feist, Coldplay, Beck because if i do I will hate them even more when my family insists on playing them in the car on the way to P.E.I. Have also considered buying a new CD or two - possibly something by Beirut... oh and Ainsley informed me she's ordered a new copy of my Stars remix album (which she 'misplaced =P) so maybe I'll listen to that when I get it!

10) Still haven't decided on this Goalatude yet and I'm running out of time .....

So Clearly I need to focus on 3 and 6 and find a 10 .... ALSO blogger formatting is pissing me off I need spaces Blogger I NEED them! Why do you deny me this simple right!

New (Summer) Music: La Roux

There's is so much awful music going around this summer - I can't even begin to name examples because there is just loads. However, with the bad (ugly and evil) there is always good, great and amazing. I recently discovered La Roux and cannot stop listening to them. So peppy! So techno! Sooooooooo 80s!!!!! Their (read: record label's) choice of singles has been questionable, but Bulletproof got me hooked and the rest of their stuff is sooo good.

Maybe I'm just partial because the lead singer is obviously a flaming (and probably contagious) ginge.

Favourites: Armour Love, Fascination and Cover My Eyes:

Weekend Sum Up

I know Tuesday is now coming to a close, but I thought I'd do a little rundown of my weekend for form's sake - wouldn't want to miss documenting anything!

My family headed up to a neighbour's cottage this weekend and I opted to stay home - but I actually didn't spend much time at home as it turns out.

Friday I rented too many movies and ended up only being able to watch one (Confessions of a Shopoholic - cute...). Saturday I was startled awake by a crash of thunder right overtop my house which turned out to be quite licky because I had stayed up super late and not set an alarm. I headed downtown TO and hit up the ROM with Calvin. It was overrun with kids and culminated in me getting the wits scared out of me by a person dressed as a dinosaur slowly shuffling towards me ... very scary when you don't realize what's going on.

Dorcas picked us up at a subway station near her house and drove all the way back to Oakville for dinner at Alice Fazoolis (yay! my favourite) and BRUNO - Oh.My.God. I was so scandalized the entire time. I've decided that Borat was much better - but there was still loads of hilarity in this film as well. Later that night I endeavoured to watch another of the movies I rented (Waitress: went on too long, but kind of cute) and then fell asleep. Sunday I found some great deals on short and capris - much needed with my impending summer vacay!

Basically this weekend was a lovely break from the monotony of work-home-sleep-work ... hope everyone else had just as good a time and remember, tomorrow is already humpday! Schweet.

Special Delivery!

Today while blogging and working the doorbell rang - and who should it be but a courier with a package from the Queen's Campus Bookstore just for me!!! I got the brilliant idea last week to order some of the books I'll have to read for the two English seminars I will be taking this coming year. I am always shamed when the end of the year comes and I've not been able to read all the required material for a course. I am especially nervous about my shortcomings this year because I'm enrolled in small seminar courses where I'll be expected to participate regularly with thoughtful input, hard to do/fake when you've not read anything. And once I'm unable to complete one book the whole semester is blown, I can never catch up. Case in point: I could not for the life of me get through Invisible Man last fall semester and do you think I successfully read all the novels that followed in my American Contemporary Literature class? Of course not. Neuromancer, Woman on the Edge of Time both only half finished ...
I decided that in conjunction with Goalatude 2 (which by the way I've read 2 1/1 more books since by last Goalatude update!) I would try an read as many of the (mostly long) novels for one of my seminars. I've started with Austen's Northanger Abbey which I'm only 20 pages into and already am enjoying. Then maybe I'll read Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, because it is short and there is a greater chance of success with it. All in all I'm quite excited to start this reading adventure, I've wanted to read Middlemarch forever and Villette's back cover description intrigues me. The only novel I am not so excited to delve into of the group I ordered is Wuthering Heights - I've purposefully avoided this novel for 21 years and now it's finally caught up with me.... help. Wish me Luck! (I guess my pouffy Georgette Heyer books will have to wait - okay by me, I love owning books I've not yet read - Antici ...... pation)

Morning Headlines

Today I was on the CBC News homepage browsing through headlines to see if there was anything of interest when I noticed a discrepancy in the types of stories being reported in the different areas of Canada. Obviously there is all sorts of things going on from coast to coast, but it struck me as rather funny that while in my area of the country, the GTA, the top headlines are strikes, immigration and murder, in P.E.I. the headlines are speeders beware, sporting facilities upgraded and roadwork ....... how .... cute. And I mean that in the best possible way! I mention P.E.I. because in about 2 1/2 weeks I will embark on an epic roadtrip to the very island for a summer holiday - I am so amped to cross the Confederation Bridge - how cool is that?!

In other CBC news: I just happened upon an article on Tim Hortons' expansion into the U.S., more specifically downtown Manhattan. I love how the banner in the picture for this article reads: Tim Hortons coffee and bake shop ....... how long has it been since they've needed that description on a Canadian shop I wonder? Also I feel like the article got the number of store locations in North America wrong - 3,500?! Are you kidding ... I practically live in a fricken' Tim Hortons! I thought everyone had their own?

Top 3 .......Internet Sites of the Week

I am off work today, lovely! I've been really off my blog as of late, just not interested, probably because I have been busy living rather than reporting about living. But I believe there can be a balance - I'm just still trying to figure out how to manage it.

Today's Top 3 is a lazy one - I didn't have to search my soul or weigh different options to decide what made the list and what didn't ... I just looked at my internet history and blam! Here are my Top 3 Internet Sites of the Week:

1) Jezebel
Why?

Well, my fellow blogette has been recommending this for a couple years now and though previously I would stop by just because, NOW it is a regular interwebulous destination for me - thoughtful, interesting, funny current events/ entertainment blogging! Also the comments under post are actually as good as the story - first evah!

have a read at: http://jezebel.com/

2) BBC Radio

Why?

I found that working at home can be lonely (though I still greatly prefer it to going out to work) and as such I often put on music so I'm not just left in silence with my work. Problem, even though I have loads of music - I've heard all of it before and sometimes there is a NEED for something different. I can only take so much of weekday CBC radio so I went online and found you can stream any BBC Radio station online! So much better than North American radio ... by far - I haven't heard Pussycat Dolls or Nickelback once!

have a listen at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/

3) Goop

Why?

AHAHAHAHAHAHA - this site just makes me giggle. I don't like Gwyneth Paltrow, she is the quintessential 'Holier than thou' famous person. I strongly believe she started this newsletter because she felt it was her purpose to educate and culture the lay people of the world ... and with hilarious results. My favourite thing so far? The motto of the site: "Nourish the Inner Aspect". Okay, here's a suggestion Mrs. Martin ... nourish your own 'inner aspect' and leave the rest of us alone. I also don't like how she listed Keep the Car Running by The Arcade Fire as one of her top 10 party jams ... not only is it one of my least favourite AF songs, but it ain't no party jam.

have a laugh at: http://goop.com/

Karsh, G, Passion Pit: A Summarized Week in the Life ...

Yikes, It's been a while since a proper post, no? I can explain: I have been so super busy this past week and a bit. I had planned to post last Friday, then I had lots of work come up. So I decided to post on the weekend - but c'mon! The weather had been gross all week and finally this weekend it was absolutely beautiful so I couldn't justify sitting in front of my computer for any length of time. So now it is Monday again and let me just run down what's been happening in my corner of the world for the last little while.
Last weekend my mum and stepdad + my dogs came to visit for almost a week so when I wasn't working I was visiting and driving between Oakville and Bolton (Dorcas, I have seen the edge of York Region and it is FARMLAND!). I got a chance to revisit the McMichael Art Gallery and view the magnificent work of Yousuf Karsh, in particular his highly controversial (at the time) photo of Gow Crapper .... Monday I got to register for courses for my last year of school - for the first time ever just about all my first choice classes were available for me! Shockahhh! Tuesday I took my final driving test and PASSED! again Shocks all around (especially since I started the test by first hitting the curb, then forgetting to put the car in park while doing a parallel park in the bus that I drive). Okay, it's not actually a bus but it is a Volvo wagon so it's practically the same thing, right?! It's like as ginormous as an SUV but without the height and therefore visual advantage. This is the most exciting thing for me to achieve in years. I am the biggest worrier ever and for the past 2 years when I'm not thinking of something immediate by brain falls back on: OMGOMG I have to get my G before December 2009!!!! *Sigh of Relief*
Tuesday night I went for coffee with my girlies at Williams but received absolutely horrible service so I emailed a complaint which was responded to with a $25.00 gift certificate ... um hells ya! I will say that their Customer Service higher up is amazing compared to their restaurant service.
Friday I enjoyed a bbq with neighbours and then spent all weekend working a little and reading in the sun a lot!
This past week has also been great because I have discovered and rediscovered loads of great music! I have been in dire need of new music and something different than my usual fare. I am talking opposite end of the musical spectrum for me ... like DANCE music.
I've been listening to everything from Deadmau5 to London Beat - and I don't need any judgement thank you very much.
Recently I discovered (for myself, they've obviously been around a little while) this jem of a band Passion Pit and I loves them sooooo much. I am so glad there is still half a summer to enjoy this music as it is defo a summer jam...

Random Thought

Is it just me or is there an abnorally high number of baby-themed blogs? Not on the topic of babies in general, but on a specific baby. Every time I click "Next Blog" (which is not that often because I'm pretty self-important and prefer my blog and my friends' blogs to any others =D) either a blog from South America, which I can't understand and therefore hate OR a blog about someone's newborn pops up... It's a baby ... big deal. If my baby was like the Evian babies then maybe, just maybe, I'd devote a whole blog to them ....

See the Evian Babies Here and Here, but remember that everytime you drink bottled water you KILL the EARTH.

While You Are Away From Me ...

Dear Blog,

Sorry I've been so selfish with my time. I've not updated you in a week and for that I apologize. I promise I'll be back in full binge-blogging force tomorrow. for now let me use this space as a platform for demanding a postcard from Italy. You know who you are and you know that you must fulfill this request. I'll been wishing and waiting all while you are gone and listening to Postcards from Italy by Beirut until you return ...



until then ...

p.s. I LOVE this band beyond reason. They are simply lovely and I can't believe I've never heard of them before this week *SHAMED*