RC-3 + Drive Update!

I just realized that I never added my last book to the RC-3 list. 38 Witnesses by A.M. Rosenthal - a quick read that discusses The New York Times' discovery of the murder of Kitty Genovese, and A.M. Rosenthal's personal feelings of the case. For those of you who don't know, Kitty Genovese was murdered in the early 60s in Queens, NY outside two apartment buildings. It was discovered after she died that 38 people in the surrounding apartment buildings had witnessed the murder happening from their windows, but none had called the police. 1 person did end up calling the police, but much too late. This murder is discussed in a lot of sociology, psychology, and Malcolm Gladwell-like books when discussing the bystander effect. Very interesting case, and a decent read.

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
2. The Girls by Lori Lansens
3. Live from New York by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford
6. 38 Witnesses: The Kitty Genovese Case by A.M. Rosenthal

I'm currently reading Saturday by Ian McEwan, which I absolutely love so far. It's a post-9/11 novel, set in England, taking place on one Saturday. I'm about half-way through and I haven't even gotten to the afternoon yet. It's a really well thought-out novel. I thought McEwan was Canadian, but turns out he's British. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. It's a great book, and I'm moving along decently with rc-3. Once I finish Saturday, I'll have 7 months to read 13 more books. Gotta pick up the pace.

Next on the agenda... my driving challenge!!

Remember my goals?

1. Get my G1 by December 31, 2010.
2. a) Register for driving lessons by February 28, 2011.
   b) Book my road test by May 31, 2011.
   c) Get my G2 by August 31, 2011.
3. Get a car by December 31, 2011.

Well, I think I already told you that Goal 2 c) may be coming early because my road test is less than a week away on June 1st. It's so surreal that this has happened so quickly, but I'm feeling really positive about it. Yesterday I had my practice road test which I booked to ensure that my chances of passing were as high as is humanly possible. I drove to Peterborough where my instructor took me through the most commonly done test route... we did it nearly 10 times, I think! Over and over again, practicing the maneuvers, practicing my turns, practicing lane changes... At the end of the lesson he said that he thinks I'm going to pass! Hearing that really made me feel confident. I think I'm gonna pass, too.

Also - I definitely won't be waiting until December 31st to buy a car. In fact, I don't want to wait much longer at all. Assuming I get my G2 next Wednesday, I'm buying a car ASAP - by the end of June, for sure! Things are looking up!!! Rest assured, I'll keep you posted! :)d

N.Y.C. Part II

How is it that something I used to do to procrastinate is now something I procrastinate doing?
Ch-ch-ch-changes.

Anyway, without further ado: NEW YORK CITY!!!
More specifically...

10 things I learned in (or general comments about) NYC - 2011 edition

1. The NYC transit system makes so much sense... unless you're used to the TTC. It's an incredibly efficient and elaborate system, but when you're used to tracks being for 1 train that's going in only 1 direction, then you'll likely slip up at one point or another.
   
   
2. I would really love to spend more time in Central Park when I'm next in the Big Apple. Both times that I've visited I've walked around the park a teeny bit, but I'm interested in a full day spent in the park. It's just so lush and grand and I want to go visit at the height of the summer, pack a picnic and a book or 2, and just take it all in.
   
   
3. There is so much good food to eat!!! Each resto deserves its own spot on this list, but I'd at least like to tell you where I ate and why I loved it:
   
   Taboon (52nd & 10th) - My friends and I ate here on Sunday morning with another friend of ours who was performing a musical at a venue nearby. The restaurant was nearly empty when we got there, but we stuck around because of the close proximity to our friend's venue, and the great vibe, and the great service. That said, within the hour the place was packed, and a 3-piece band set themselves up in the corner and started playing some jazzy tunes. My 3 friends all had a waffle with ice cream on top and I had the Steak Benedict. The food was DELICIOUS and completely reasonable. I'd love to go back to Taboon.
   
   Tom's Restaurant (Brooklyn) - We took our Saturday brunch at Tom's Restaurant, a diner near where we were staying. Our friend recommended it highly, and I can see why. When we got there, the line was going around the corner, but it moved quickly, and our appetites were kept at bay with the food that a server was walking around and handing out to people in line - yeah, seriously. While in line we got orange slices, a cookie, and something else that I can't remember. The orange slices came last but were followed by squirts of hand sanitizer. Yeah, that's right - Tom's has got you covered. We didn't wait too long though, and had a delicious meal once we sat down. Tonnes of coffee, and I had the sausage & egg meal with the usual fixings. My friends had a variety of other stuff and everything looked and tasted amazing!
   
   Chavella's (Brooklyn) - The last notable restaurant to share with you (I'm doing this in reverse order) is Chavella's, where we took Brian (our hostess with the mostess) out for dinner on Friday evening. It's a Mexican place that he recommended and it was absolutely delish. We walked over from his apartment and got seated almost immediately on their outside patio. It was a decent evening weather-wise, and we only started feeling cold at the end of our meal, so it was nice to get some fresh air while we ate. All of us ordered some Mexican alcoholic beverages (I had a classic cervesa - Corona) and shared some amazing guacamole, and then I had soft-shelled tacos with delicious rice on the side. Others at the table had Mexican soups and hard-shelled tacos and all sorts of other yummy choices. The dinner was perfect, the server was really fun... all in all it was a great time.
   
   
4. Going to the MoMA on Saturday afternoon was definitely a highlight. I've always wanted to go, so I visited their website before the trip and made note that there was a really cool sounding exhibit on called "Looking at Music 3.0". Lucky for me we went to that exact exhibit on Saturday and I loved every minute of it. You can read more about it at the link, but basically it was the 3rd segment in a series exploring music (a lot of it having come out of New York City) and its impact on culture. The room was set up with headphones and music videos playing on loop... there was Le Tigre, Jay-Z, Beastie Boys... it was so cool! I browsed some other exhibits, too, but didn't have nearly enough time to see it all. I'd love to go back!
   
   
5. The key to Canal St., it seems, is to reject your entire Canadian upbringing, and force yourself to be aggressive and deceitful... at least that's the sense I got after observing my bestie Rachel negotiating with the little woman calling out "Coach...Louis...Chanel" as we walked by. Rachel lied, cheated, and did whatever it took to get a good deal, and I admired her for it. That's just the way you do it on Canal. Thanks to Rach, I got a great deal on a bracelet for my sister!
   
   
6. I love SoHo. The shops, the vibe, the layout, the architecture... there's nothing like that in Toronto; nothing that seems so historic and yet so modern, so hip and yet so accessible... We popped in and out of stores, grabbed a snack at the SoHo Cafe (my 2nd time there, which I was surprised to have happen when I've only been to NYC twice), and just enjoyed walking around. I mentioned that last year: the magic of New York is how much you can see and experience without paying anything and just being willing to walk and walk and walk.
   
   
7. This weekend I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to see the opera Orfeo ed Euridice at the Metropolitan Opera, known as the Met. More fortunate was I to have my best friend Brian (who we stayed with) performing on the stage with other members of the Mark Morris Dance Group. Mark Morris choreographed the dance portions of this production, and not that I've been to (m)any professional operas, but in my personal opinion it was an outstanding production -- unique, funky, modern, beautiful... the list goes on. My friend did amazingly well (front & centre, NBD) and the music was wonderful. It was great!
   
   
8. As I've mentioned already (I think), I stayed with my best and oldest friend (not in terms of age, but in terms of how long I've known him) Brian in his apartment in Brooklyn. The apartment was fantastic and it was so nice not to have to spend anything on accommodations, and it was really neat to somewhat get to know the area in Brooklyn where he lives, which I think is called Prospect Heights, if I've got that right. He told us it's an up-and-coming neighbourhood, and though there was some shadiness in some spots, it was definitely a cute and fun area, where I would be happy to live myself. There were some great restos and cute cafes, and I was happy to now be able to imagine where he lives when we chat on the phone or on Skype or whatever.
   
   
9. On Sunday, after walking through a teeny bit of Central Park, we walked down Columbus Ave. from about 70th to 50th. I'd never walked around this area of the Upper West Side before, and I loved it. Columbus was filled with people walking, great boutiques with what looked like awesome clothing, little stationery shops, cafes, etc. So much fun - glad to have walked down it.
   
   
10. And, as is tradition, I must always say: Home is where the heart is.
    

The Shins - you heard of them?

“You gotta hear this one song; it’ll change your life, I swear.”

If you were between 15 and 18 in 2004, you’ll know what I’m talking about.



My boss was listening to The Shins today (I know… cool boss) and I sent her this clip in response. I love The Shins (though I haven’t listened to them in a while) and I love Garden State… oh, and I also love Natalie Portman, and Zach Braff’s aight, too… anyway, so I consider this clip pretty fantastic.

But it occurred to me while reminiscing on the first time I saw Garden State, in the theatre with my sister Sarah, and “New Slang” and the movie as a whole sort of did change my life… and least in terms of music.

The amalgam of songs on the Garden State soundtrack sort of opened up this whole new world of music for me. There were all of these songs available to me once I tapped in to this underground network of subversives and hipsters. The Internet was still sort of a new-ish pastime at that point, so realizing it had the capability to introduce me to what seemed like an infinite amount of new music was this huge revelation. I started spending all of my time figuring out what else was out there that I would enjoy.

It just so happened that I started getting into “The O.C.” at that time. It was in its 2nd season and it turned out that it, too, was a platform for up and coming musicians. Thanks to the character Seth Cohen, an outcast with impeccable music taste, the gang went to all sorts of concerts with bands from Modest Mouse to Death Cab for Cutie, if I remember correctly. Oh, and Rooney, too.

Obviously “The O.C.” was a huge and extremely popular show, but somehow we (if you’ll allow me to include you in this) felt like a part of this secret club because we had Belle & Sebastian, The Dandy Warhols, Alexi Murdoch, and the Eels on our $400 iPod Minis. Can you believe a device with 4gb cost that much? Well it did...

I don’t hunt for music like I used to… it’s just not the same, involved process of writing out lists and waiting for your 5-song limit to finish downloading on LimeWire, so it doesn’t feel like such a mission every time. I also don’t really listen to the same stuff I used to, but my adolescence, and now adulthood, wouldn’t have been the same without it, and I thank Zach Braff for that.

Discovering TO #1 + RC3

As I wait for my coffee to finish steeping in my FP, I will write...

I just had a FANTASTIC weekend!! As you may know, I am from Toronto, but I currently reside in a small town about an hour east of Toronto. I love my job so it's completely worth living in the town, but I get a bit stir crazy sometimes, and as such, I spend most weekends in Toronto.

Despite being from Toronto, and spending most weekends here, I really haven't discovered much of the city. Even in a place with so much to do, you still tend to stick to your tried, tested, and true neighbourhoods - go to the stores there, the restaurants there, the cafes there, etc. However, I really want to take advantage of this great city, so I've decided to start to try branching out, and what's a good way to do that? Find a resto you want to go to and let that be the excuse to explore a new area. Bam!

So this weekend I discovered new areas on two ends of Queen Street. On Saturday night I rode the streetcar East to Leslieville and ate at an amazing restaurant called Queen Margherita Pizza. My girlfriend orders the Margherita Pizza at any place that serves it, as she calls it the metric for a great restaurant. If their MP is good, then the resto is good. So - when I found out there was a restaurant with the pizza in the name? I thought, we've gotta try this! Plus - it has a rave review in the Toronto Life 2011 Restaurant Guide... not a bad reason to go! It was delicious. She obv ordered the MP, I ordered a pizza called just the Vegetarian Pizza, and both were amazing!! We also started off with a re-imagined bruschetta which was amazing, and finished the night with their Tiramisu which was the best I've ever had - light and yummy! We didn't walk around Leslieville enough, but it seems like a great area with some eclectic shops and a very relaxed vibe.

On Sunday morning I rode the streetcar West on Queen to Roncesvalles, and had brunch with my bestie Rachel at Easy Restaurant. It was also highly recommended by Toronto Life and www.blogto.com, so I wanted to give it a try. My friend was a "bit late", but I was in no rush so I relaxed with a cup of coffee and a book. The serving staff were fantastic - just kept refilling my cup but never pressured me to order or asked me when my friend was coming; they just left me alone... much appreciated. When Rachel arrived, we ordered - she got the vegetarian toscada, and I got the house specialty: Huevos Divorciados. They were delicious! Mexican-inspired breakfast food... no complaints. Unfortunately I didn't walk around Ronci that much either, but I love the vibe there, too. Once again - lots of neat shops, some hipsters walking and biking around, and it didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous day... so was Saturday. Man, good weather really makes walking around a total pleasure!! Anyway, needless to say, it was a great weekend!!

And that's not all... I discovered two areas of Toronto AND finished two books. I hate getting into a reading funk, but the fun of getting out is that if you have 5 books half-finished, suddenly you feel like you're breezing through.

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
2. The Girls by Lori Lansens
3. Live from New York by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford

HP7 - the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series - was awesome!! I laughed, I cried, and I enjoyed every minute of it... especially the last 100 pages or so - I felt as though I could not stop. It really was a fantastic story, and I'm already looking forward to re-reading it sometime in the not-so-near future. The HP series can't be double-counted in the reading challenge... that just wouldn't be fair. Anyway, so I'm done the series! I can't wait for the movie, now knowing what happens... it's going to be quite the show!

Secondly, I wrapped up reading The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford - who I know personally, but haven't seen in a while. Man oh man can that man write... wow!! I think I can safely say that aside from Margaret Atwood, that is the most inventive, imaginative writing I have ever witnessed. The stories... they were so out of this world that I couldn't believe they were conceived by the human mind... but that's why I love fiction! I also love reading a book of short stories for a change. For one thing, you don't feel as guilty setting it aside for a little while, and for another, it's so nice to have so much variety in one book. I highly recommend the book and bought a copy for a friend this weekend to support Matthew, as he deserves it!

That's all for now!

Also - 4 sleeps until NYC!!!!!

Try to relieve some pressure.

Try NOT to dance... I dare you...

Even if it's chair dancing where you're just flexing/un-flexing your bum.

NYC Adventure #2

I'm exhausted. I wouldn't have even known I was exhausted except for the fact that I stopped working for a second to stare out the window and have a sip of coffee and I just totally zoned out. Does that ever happen to you? The worst part is when you're trying to zone back in and your eyes get all fuzzy and out of focus..... now that I'm saying this out loud, I really hope I'm not the only one who this happens to..... I don't want to find out that these things are symptoms of something.....

Moving on.....
Actually I'm not really sure what the point of this post was, so I'm not sure yet what I'm moving on to.....

Oooohhh guess what?! I'm going to NYC in less than 2 weeks - May 13th to be exact!! I can't wait. It's been a little over a year since I was last there, but this time will be different:

1. I'm flying Porter vs. taking a Megabus. Why? Well because I'm only there for the weekend so I don't have the time to take a 10-hour bus. And, because I have an income now and can afford to take a plane!
2. I'll be staying in Brooklyn vs. White Plains, NY. My friend B. who I'm staying with lives in Brooklyn now as he graduated from SUNY Purchase.
3. In addition to my travel buddy & BFF R., I'm also bringing my girlfriend along. She's no stranger to NYC, but it's our first time travelling together, so that's fun!
4. We're going in May this year vs. February. I hope the weather is nice and then we don't get caught in a blizzard on the Brooklyn Bridge again..... I'm sure we won't.
   

Oh... and did I mention that I'm going to the Met to see an opera? Did I mention I have amazing seats? Did I mention my bestie B. is dancing in it? I don't think I did... I'm super psyched about it.

Last year during my visit (Feb/2010) I made a list of 10 things I was learning while in NYC. I wonder what new things I might learn during my visit this year. I'll be sure to list them.

I'm hoping to take in some more sites this time. Last time we did a lot of walking, which I hope to do again, too, but I have no problem going to some tourist sites with fees attached this time around. Maybe a museum? I'm also really looking forward to eating a few really delish meals, maybe going out to dance, and just generally enjoying what the city has to offer.

What do you recommend I do in NYC???