Discovering T.O. #5

I'm ashamed to say that it's been over 2 weeks since I last posted on here.  Oh well, no better time than now to update and get on with it...


I think now is a good time for another installment of "Discovering T.O."


This past Saturday, we celebrated my sister's bachelorette with a very classy day of enjoying some treats the city has to offer.  My sister is a very low-key kind of girl, and her bachelorette reflected that.  Guests were invited to attend one or both parts of the day.  The first was...


High Tea @ MoRoCo Chocolat:


My sister (the engaged one) loves tea and baking, so my other sister (the organizer) suggested high tea at MoRoCo in Yorkville.  She had been before and loved it so we all took her word for it and went there Saturday afternoon.  


It was a very classy affair, to begin with.  Beautiful decor and atmosphere, great service, and a really delicious menu.  We began with a glass of champagne, followed by having our orders for tea taken (they provide loose-leaf tea selection; you choose yours and they bring you your own full tea-pot of it, with a beautiful tea-cup and a strainer).  When your tea arrives, so does all the food (see photo below).  The bottom tier of the tower has finger sandwiches, second tier has the most delicious scones you've ever tasted (complete with cream & custard), and the third tier has a variety of chocolate-coated and other sweets (strawberry dipped in chocolate, macarons, etc.).  There was no rush to enjoy all of this and, as I said, the service was fantastic!




Next on the menu...


Dinner @ Gio Rana's Really Really Nice Restaurant (a.k.a. "The Nose"):


We took the TTC from Yorkville to Leslieville for dinner at Gio Rana's.  Some of the guests just went to the tea, but 6 of us made the trip together from one hip neighbourhood to another and had 2 more join us.  My sister (the organizer) booked us in their private room/vault/wine room, which provided an extremely cozy, cool, and intimate eating experience.  We all kicked off the night with dirty martinis and then a couple of bottles of red wine to go with the delicious Italian food we were served.  I chose the Involtini as my main: stuffed pork wrapped in a rib-eye, topped with goat cheese.  As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get any better.  I had the salad special of the night as a side, which was also delicious.  A very perfect dining experience, with an Irish coffee to cap the night off.




Currently reading -- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain


Posts to come -- the long-awaited (I'm sure) Lady Gaga post, my thoughts on "Downton Abbey", and my feelings on The Hunger Games

Weekend Mish-Mash

It's been nearly two weeks now since my last post.  I used to post more frequently maybe, but I'm trying to write in a more thematic way than before, as you may have noticed.  That being said, I don't want that to keep me from posting, so here's something new - unplanned & random.


I'm now over three months into rc-4 and 4 books down.  Not exactly the right rate of reading (alliteration!) if I want to get to 20, but I'm not concerned.  The fourth book I read was Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs.  I was assigned this book in one of my English courses in university and read a fair bit of it but wasn't able to finish it before the end of the course, so I finally got down to getting through the whole thing... and it was GREAT!

The book appeals to me in the same way the movie does - a unique story, a fantastic protagonist (Clarice Starling), and the best elements of a psychological thriller without being downright gratuitous.  There are moments in the book - again, just like the movie - that are downright gross, upsetting, and creepy.  That being said, it all fits, and none of it seems gross just for the sake of it, so I let myself get creeped out by those moments and that's part of the fun.  The important thing was that it was a great read, I was engaged start to finish, and I'm glad I made it to the end this time around.

Having finished the book I figured it was high-time I re-watch the movie "Silence of the Lambs" with Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.  Luckily it was on Rogers on Demand, so I watched it on Good Friday (how appropriate).  It was just as good as I remembered.  Jodie Foster is the PERFECT Clarice Starling, and the movie does a good job of taking liberties on additions and making smart decisions on subtractions so that at the end of the day, you've still got the same great story.  That said, there's nothing quite as good as the book.


In other news, I had a bit of a "Discovering TO" moment yesterday when I finally got my chance to have fish & chips at Penrose Fish & Chips on Mt. Pleasant.  I had heard this place raved about a number of times and so how appropriate (actually this time) that I got my first taste on Good Friday?!?  Let me tell you... it was worth the rave reviews I had heard.  The atmosphere was simple and classic, unpretentious and family-oriented.  The take-out line-up was literally down the street.  The main event - the fish & chips - were perfect.  Crispy, crunchy batter wrapped around light, fresh halibut & home-made fat fries with lots of vinegar, salt, and ketchup at the table to enjoy them with.  YUM!!!  We finished it off with one piece of lemon meringue pie and four forks.  It was PERFECTION.  I left feeling full but not bloated, which to me is the sign of a good meal.  On top of that the company was the best you can have, so that didn't hurt.  Oh, and this place is literally newsworthy - a cameraman from CityTV was there to film the Good Friday tradition there and my friend ended up on the news that night reporting that Penrose is worth the wait!  Yours truly snuck in there, too, don't you know...  So glad to have had my Penrose experience!  More to come, to be sure.


And finally, I haven't yet reported that I'm now a "Downton Abbey" lover, but I am and I'm proud of it!  I was introduced to it last weekend and wrapped up season 1 last night.  I had heard a lot of hype, but I knew that it would be something I'd enjoy, so I fought my aversion to hype and dove in.  OMG it is good.  It has all the elements I like in a television show - good writing, good acting, good cinematography, tasteful drama, and exposure to a world you've never seen before (I hope I don't sound pretentious as I think I might, having just said cinematography is an element I like in TV).  Anyway, I love the show and highly recommend it.

Now - back to my Easter weekend..... pajamas, guilt-free TV and movie-watching, my new book (The Hunger Games... speaking of hype), and good old-fashioned chillin'.

Port Hope & small town living

Almost two years ago now, when deciding between a job offer and the potential of another, I made a list of pros and cons.  The biggest con?  Moving to Port Hope, Ontario.

Now this con had many associated cons: loneliness, isolation, nothing to do, no friends, etc.  However, the job itself had countless pros.  I sought advice from my parents, friends, and colleagues - past & present.  Finally one night - while drinking a glass of wine and eating olives and brie (I thought acting sophisticated might assist me in a grown-up decision) - I decided I would do it.  I would take the great job and move to Port Hope.

So, as of now I have lived in "PH" for 21 months, with 3 remaining until I make the move to what PH locals call "The Big Smoke" (Toronto).  The cons I considered in my decision process turned out to be true, especially in my first 6-12 months living there.  I was desperately lonely.  I was bored, I felt isolated, and while I was actually 23 at the time, I felt I must be 50+ because why else would I be in Port Hope?  (I'm being intentionally facetious, by the way).

My days were the same... wake up, walk to work, work, walk home, make dinner, eat, watch TV, go to bed, rinse, repeat.  The exciting days were when I needed to go to Metro for groceries or Shoppers for toiletries.  I only went anywhere I could walk to.

By the way, I'm not trying to make anyone feel sorry for me.  In fact, I'm sort of chuckling to myself thinking about how down I was back then...

On weekends, I would hop on the VIA after work and head to TO for a taste of the good life - friends, family, and things to do!  That's how I lived, day in and day out, and I still do, really, except for one important difference.

Within the first 6 months of living in PH I realized something significant - I wanted to drive.  I felt especially isolated because all I could rely on were my own two feet and the something-to-be-desired Port Hope VIA schedule.  In the winter I began to feel completely pathetic.  Why did I not know how to drive?  (If you want to know the answer and the detailed story, click here).  Every day I'd walk to work and stare at all the moving cars longingly.  Eventually I'd had enough; in early 2011 I started driving lessons and by the end of June I had my G2 and a car (HUBBLE!).

THAT is what I am most grateful to Port Hope for.  Seriously.  If I stayed in Waterloo or moved to Toronto in 2010, I can't tell you when I would've gotten my license.  PH made me feel an urgency to get it.  Once I got it and bought Hubble I could pick up and leave whenever I wanted.  I could drive to Cobourg for... whatever!  I could buy more groceries than I could carry.  It felt great!  It still does, and therefore I am grateful to PH.  It also made living alone in Port Hope more tolerable.  It really made a difference.

Also, something else that made PH tolerable, which happened early on was this: not being in school.  I remember one day after work, when my last online course was wrapped up, I came home, sat on the couch, and turned on the TV.  A few minutes later I realized that I hadn't been thinking.  It was as if my mind was floating above my body.  I was truly relaxing.  When I was in school, I wasn't the hardest working student in the class, but even still - school was always on my mind: the next project, the late essay, the upcoming exam... it was totally constant and unrelenting, so the feeling of leaving the office at 5:00 and being truly "done for the day"?  That was priceless.

That brings me to another thing - cable.  Oh my God, cable, you delicious luxury.  I had cable 3/5 of my years in Waterloo, but I didn't watch it a tonne, really.  However, with nothing to do and a job to pay for it with, I thought - might as well.  I've watched more TV in the past 21 months than maybe my whole life.  My favourite channel?  Probably OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network).  I watch "Hoarders" on A&E, "Lifeclass" on OWN, and "Til Debt Do Us Part" on Slice.  I watch it all, and I love it.  I am grateful for cable.

There's also the alone time.  I often joke that I've gotten enough alone time while living in PH to last the rest of my life.  It's as if I've stock-piled it and now I'm all set.  It's been great though: quiet mornings with coffee and a book, reading before bed, cooking up a storm and having all the leftovers I could want, and of course, watching enough TV to rot my brain.  It surprises some people to know it, but I am an introvert through and through (MBTI = INFJ), and so the alone time has been very welcome.  In fact, I've loved it!  I'll always need alone time, but I'm okay with cutting down a bit...

Before I moved to PH, or maybe it was in those early days of living there, I considered (and discussed with family and friends) the benefits of living in PH.  Specifically, the financial benefits of living there while having my first real job.  For example, the costs of living are low: rent is low, gas is cheaper than TO, and most importantly, there's nothing to do and therefore nothing to spend money on.  My bank statements for weekdays alternate between Metro and Shoppers.  Exciting?  No.  Beneficial?  Yes.  More than low expenses though, it's been great to "become a grown-up", so to speak, in such a low-pressure environment.  I actually read my bills and speak to bank tellers, I've developed an understanding of my personal finances and have learned to be responsible.  It's been great and necessary to start me on my way.

That said, my desire for excitement has revealed that I'm willing to pay a premium for city living.

Which brings me to my last point... the greatest thing I've learned while living in Port Hope is that I'm not cut out for small town living.  It's like taking a course in uni and knowing you shouldn't major in the subject.  You could say the course was a waste of time or you could say that you learned something valuable... about what you don't want.  That's (just as) important.  That's how I feel about Port Hope.  I learned something valuable.  I learned that I need people and diversity, options and bustle, excitement and many restaurants.  I need them bright lights, long nights...

So there that is.  I've still got 3 months to go, so this may be premature, but i wanted the chance to reflect on my valuable experience in PH and to simultaneously get excited about my upcoming move and entering perhaps the next chapter of my life.

Posts to come -- how Oprah made me "get" Lady Gaga.

Happy St. P's & 2 films to see

Happy St. Patrick's Day, readers!  I hope you're out celebrating your Irish heritage or at least pretending to be Irish for the day.  Whether it's enjoying a green beer, fryin' up some spuds, or wearing a ridiculous shirt that says, "Kiss me, I'm Irish!", I appreciate your support of my heritage today.

Personally I celebrated today by finishing Frank McCourt's memoir, Angela's Ashes.  10 weeks into 2012 and 3 books down.  Only 17 more to go! ...Anyway, on to the point of this post...

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently saw two films that I think are really important:

1. Almost a year ago I saw that a documentary called "Miss Representation" was playing on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).  I was at my parents' house at the time so I PVRed it and then forgot about it.  Recently I was flipping through their PVRed shows and saw it there.  I was relaxing with my Saturday morning coffee, so I thought, why not?!  I spent the next two hours watching a documentary that really shook me.  In the simplest terms, the film is about the negative portrayal of women in the media and how that leads to a shortage of women in the government and other high-powered positions in the corporate world.
   
   A barometer for my world is my Facebook news feed.  I was an active volunteer in university in the LGBTQ community and as a result crossed paths with queer activists, feminists, and the like.  Now, my news feed is in large part made up of videos, articles, and personal statements about issues of homophobia, sexism, misogyny, etc.
   
   I am wholeheartedly against these things.  However, when they are the bulk of what I see on Facebook, I have become very desensitized and find myself with compassion fatigue.  So, I stop thinking about the problems and how they impact me and those around me.  When I sat down and watched "Miss Representation", it was like a smack in the face -- these are real issues!  There is a real problem!  I watched esteemed women like Condoleezza Rice, Lisa Ling, Rachel Maddow, and Gloria Steinem talk about this real issue, and I felt overcome with an urge to weep for women everywhere.  I know this sounds dramatic, but it felt dramatic!  I felt like I had totally forgotten that these are real problems affecting me and every female in my life and the world.  It was a wake-up call.  It was a very powerful & important film, and I strongly recommend it.
   
2. The day after I watched "Miss Representation", I went over to my sister's place for a delicious brunch and another engaging film.  She and I watched "We Were Here".  This doc is about the AIDS crisis in San Francisco in the 80s.  It really outlines the spread of the virus, both physically and also the social spread of information; from the early days hearing about the "gay cancer" to learning about potential meds to help those with AIDS.  The story of it all was told by artists prominent in the area at the time, individuals who had partners die of AIDS, and nurses who helped comfort patients in hospitals during their final days.  It was well-made, well-told, and emotional.  Another one I highly recommend.

Discovering T.O. #4

The 4th "Discovering T.O." post (preceded by this one and that one... oh, and that one, too) comes in perfect time as it can be paired with an exciting announcement:

I'M MOVING BACK TO TORONTO!!!
WOO HOO!!!!!!!

Where am I moving from?  Well, I've been living in the wee town of Port Hope, Ontario for the past (nearly) two years.  I moved here for work and it's been quite the learning experience -- I've definitely enjoyed elements of it, but the small town life is decidedly not for me... at least not long-term... but more on that in another post.

What do I mean I'm moving back?  Good question, because I haven't been living in Toronto for the entire time I've been keeping this blog.  I haven't actually lived in Toronto for nearly 7 years now.  Wow... time flies!  I lived in Waterloo for 5 years, and now Port Hope for 2.  I've spent tonnes of time in Toronto in between -- summer of '06, holidays, and every weekend since I moved to PH -- but I haven't really lived there.  As of July 1st, I'll be living there.  For real.

Beyond just living there, it'll be my first time living in Toronto on my own.  Any time I've lived in TO up until now it's been with my parents.  This will be Sugar & Gravy's first place of her own in Toronto.  That's about a million times better.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted during the moving process, but moving on...

Discovering T.O. #4

I get the sense that even if I live in Toronto for the rest of my life, there will always be places to discover.  My dad has lived in Toronto for almost his whole life, and my Mom for over 30 years, and they still find new places, so I'm optimistic.

Not this past weekend but the one before, I found two new spots I would recommend:

(1) Bar Volo -- as you likely know already, I'm an avid reader of Toronto Life.  In this wee town I live in, it's my little slice of Toronto, and it helps guide me in making my weekend plans.  They recently put out their annual "Where to Eat Now" issue, which includes a Restaurant Guide.  I love this guide.  I kept my 2011 edition at my office year-round and would mark it up with a highlighter (for the ones I'd been to) and mark with pencil the ones I wanted to go to.  

One of the hot spots according to the 2012 edition is Bar Volo, which I'd read about on websites and in other mags, so I figured it was worth checking out.  I went there for a few beers with a new friend and absolutely loved it.  It's obvious that beer and other alcoholic beverages is "their thing" because the options are endless.  It had a good vibe, relaxed atmosphere, and I really enjoyed myself.  Check it out -- on Yonge, between Bloor & Wellesley.

(2) The Power Plant -- This is another Toronto Life-inspired visit.  Way back when (November or December, I think), I saw an item in the TL events pages for an exhibition called: Coming After.  You can click the link to read more about it, but in short it focusing on artists who grew up in the shadow of the mid-1980s to early 90s' queer experience.  Artist Sharon Hayes puts it best: "What marks me generationally is that ... it wasn't my friends who were dying, it was the people I was just discovering, people I was just beginning to model myself after, people I longed to become."

The exhibition sounded great to me, so I snapped a photo of the ad and forgot about it.  

Later I was flipping through photos on my iPhone and found the ad.  I realized then that the exhibition was ending in about a week's time, so I asked a friend to join me, and on Saturday, March 3rd (the second-last day of the exhibition), we headed to The Power Plant (contemporary gallery) on the harbourfront to see what it was all about.  It was a really great exhibition; diverse media, powerful imagery, and some incredible video installations.  My best way to describe it is that I had never seen anything like it before.  I was very engaged, and would very much recommend it... if it wasn't already over.

Posts to come -- my experience living in a small town & two films I saw recently that I think are important.

"Uh, no, don't worry about it, no thanks."

Once again, I'm putting off my "Discovering TO" post by posting a video of Sharlene Chiu of MTV News (Canada) interviewing Die Antwoord.  I already liked Die Antwoord because of this video, but this interview sends the love to a whole new level. 


See the interview here (I tried to embed it to no avail).


Favourite moments: telling Lady Gaga "no, don't worry about it" when she asks them to open for her on tour, referring to pop music as incestuous, finding out that Die Antwoord loves Celine Dion.

What should we call me??

I've got a meaty post comin' at you sometime between today and Tuesday of next week, BUT...


In the meantime -- I'd like to introduce you to a site that makes me laugh harder than any other: http://whatshouldwecallme.tumblr.com/.


Thank me later.