Toronto, Books & Opera

Blogging on the go again... that's just the kinda girl I am... a mover and shaker!

I'm on the subway returning to the TO apartment after a morning and early afternoon on the town. First, a dentist appointment!  Then, I visited my grandparents with my sister and her baby. It was really nice. I was in the Yonge & Bloor area the whole time and since it's freezing out, I walked underground, and damn!!!  There are so many Starbucks in that area, it's insane!

In other news, I finished my first book of 2014 today. It's a very sophisticated and important read: The Devil Wears Prada. I know the book well but have never done a full read of it. One of my strategies when in the middle of a reading drought is to read something totally fluffy to at least get me reading and then when I'm done, I know I won't be satisfied with that being the last thing I've read for very long, so I usually dive into something new right away. That's my hope for when I'm done this post. A new book is required!

I saw Cosi fan tutte again last night at the COC. This time it wasn't the main stage production but instead the opera was performed by the company's Ensemble Studio, a.k.a. the young artists program. So I've now seen the working rehearsal, main stage, and young artists' productions of this opera at the COC, plus Metro Youth Opera's production back in 2011, as well as Opera By Request's production a while back. I guess you could say I know the opera pretty well by now. It feels good.

Two of my favourite things about opera are: (1) the campiness - sometimes it's like an over-the-top drag show. I just love it! (2) how similar it is to novels and plays I studied during my English degree. The similarities between Shakespeare and Mozart are aplenty!

All for now!

Cottages & Nephews (or 1 cottage and 1 nephew)

I can't even tell you how many times I've tried to write a new blog post and yet again I've got a bit of writer's block.  Maybe it's because so much has happened and it's hard to get it all down / articulate my feelings about all the wonderful things that are and have been happening.  However, I'm keen to update, so I'm going to start with two items and save more for posts later on.  So without further ado.....

(1) My 6 days in Muskoka

I only get so many vacation days each year so I usually save them up for a big trip I’m planning.  Next Spring I’m hoping to go to Finland (!!!), for example.  So when my parents rented a cottage in Muskoka this summer, I originally planned on just a weekend there… maybe one extra weekday thrown in to make it a long weekend… but one thing led to another and I ended up taking 3 vacation days and stayed at the cottage from Fri Jul 26 to Wed Jul 31.  I’m so glad I did.

Wellesley the cottage dog

View from the deck

It takes time to relax, and then once you do you need to enjoy it, and then you also need time to ramp yourself back up to feel ready (and maybe even excited) to go back to work and routine.  Going through all those motions is too hard in a weekend; doubling my time made it that much easier.

My favourite meal of the trip; UNBELIEVABLE ribs

One of the things I love about a cottage holiday is that you aren’t expected to do anything!  Unlike a vacation in Europe – where I’d feel guilty if I wasn’t out and about taking it all in – cottages are meant for pure relaxation.

So what did I do?  I relaxed.  I slept (9 hours every night), I sunned (with many, many sunscreen applications), I swam (just a dip in the lake almost every day), I read (finished Jane Hamilton’s The Book of Ruth and started Peter Sims’ Little Bets), I played cards, I chatted with my family, and I ate!  I ate chicken, sausages, ribs (my favourite of all the meats), and more chicken!  You may know I cook exclusively vegetarian at home, so it was pretty wild eating that much meat.  It was a holiday though and that totally added to the experience.

So, clearly, my 6 days at the cottage were divine.

(2) My new nephew

While I was at the cottage the hot topic was my sister as she was due to have a baby “any day now” at that point.  She lives two hours north of where we were in Muskoka, so I felt like at any point we’d get the call and spring to action, driving to Sudbury where she is.  It was all we could talk about and we were so excited for the baby’s arrival.

Unfortunately the baby didn’t arrive during my stay in Muskoka, but he arrived shortly after, just after midnight on Friday, August 2nd.  He and my sister were happy and healthy, and our family was all thrilled!  YAY!

I left on the morning of Saturday, August 3rd from Toronto to Sudbury to visit my sister and my new nephew, Teoman a.k.a. Teo (pronounced TAYO).  I spent about 24 hours with them plus my brother-in-law and his parents, and it was absolutely incredible.  In some ways it was surreal, seeing my younger sister with her baby!!!  In all ways she seemed totally natural, and seeing her with a baby seemed absolutely normal and right.  I always imagined that seeing my sisters become mothers would transform them instantly, and in the case of Ali – my sister – it was an instant transformation, but it wasn’t a jarring one.  She seemed exactly who she is, but then a mother also.  It’s hard to articulate, but it was beautiful to see.  We were talking to each other like nothing had changed, but everything had, but it was normal and beautiful.  I don’t know how else to put it!

I love my nephew!  He’s perfect, adorable, mellow (funny to say, but true), and generally amazing.  I got to hold him a lot and I was just totally taken away.  My mom says nothing helps you stay in the present moment like a baby, and I totally understand that now.

It was a wonderful experience; to see my sister and her new family, to hold a baby on his second day in the world, to help her out and be there for her… all of it!  I love Teo!!!

Currently reading... Little Bets by Peter Sims

Posts to come... my 48 hours in Montreal

Giving Thanks

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

The first thing that I am thankful for today is my girlfriend.  She brings light to my day - every day - from the moment I get up, and that is something to be thankful for.

The second thing that I am thankful for is John Irving, his book In One Person, and good books everywhere.  After dropping my GF off this morning where she needed to be, I came back home and spent a quiet thirty minutes or so with my coffee and the last 25 pages of In One Person.  There was a lot of warmth in those thirty minutes, and like I always do with a good book, when it came to the end I got shivers, gently closed it, and spent 60 seconds or so digesting it.  I never expected my favourite author to write such an LGBTQ community-focused novel, but he did, and with an angle I've never seen, and I loved it.

I'm also thankful that once I'm done this quiet morning time and get myself showered and ready, that I'll be walking over to my parents' place - a twenty minute walk away - to enjoy a day of more warmth, loved ones around, delicious food, and a lot of blessings.

I feel lucky and I feel blessed and I feel thankful.

I hope you feel these things today, too!

~~~

rc-4 update: 

1. What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
2. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
3. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
4. Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
7. If You Have to Cry, Go Outside by Kelly Cutrone
8. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
9. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
10. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
11. In One Person by John Irving

5 non-fiction, 6 fiction, 9 authors represented, a variety of subject matter.  Perhaps hitting the goal of 20 books read in 2012 is unlikely to happen, but who cares?!  I'm reading!

Muskokes

Summer in Ontario doesn't quite feel like summer until I get to spend some time at a cottage.  I got my 24 hours in Sarnia, but it's not quite the same.  I just got back from 48 hours on Lake Rosseau in Muskoka and now I really feel like I've had that summer experience.  (Lucky for me I'll also get 48 hours in Southampton on Lake Huron next weekend!)

My 3 days in Muskoka were incredible!!!  My GF and I arrived there on Sunday around 1:00pm after the oh-so-necessary stop at Weber's on Highway 11.  My dad met us at the marina and off we drove to the cottage which is on an island I can't remember the name of.  My parents rented this cottage for about two weeks and I'm so glad I was able to spend some time there.  It's newly built and is that perfect combination of creature comforts and real cottage living.  Everything's very clean and new but also comfy and cozy.  There are tonnes of different spots to cuddle up and read, sit down and play cards, or lounge and get some sun.

During my 48 hours there I had 4 swims, 2 periods of lounging in the sun, 2 sleeps averaging 9 hours each, I finished 1 book (Mockingjay... which I've been reading for what feels like 2 years... more on that another time), played Gin Rummy twice, Boggle once, Dominion (new favourite game!) 3 times, ate 2 delicious dinners... the list goes on.

Needless to say, I enjoyed every moment, and was glad to have my first real cottage moment of the Summer of 2012.  More to come!!!

Currently reading... In One Person by John Irving
Posts to come... my thoughts on The Hunger Games trilogy / an update on rc-4 + my 3-year anniversary dinner at Yours Truly (Dundas & Ossington)

Life in TO

Guess what?!?  For the past 10 days I have been, and moving forward I will continue to be, an official resident of the city of Toronto.  I haven't truly lived here since 2005... it's pretty wild how time flies.  5 years in Waterloo, 2 in Port Hope, and now I'm back... and I couldn't be happier!

Was it hard to leave Port Hope?  Not really.  My two years in PH were formative and important and happy and satisfying, but the time was right to make the move, and I was just flat-out excited when moving day (June 30th) finally came.  But it's important to note that I really did love my apartment in PH and it was somewhat sad to say goodbye to that great place, but onwards and upwards!!!

At least, it will be upwards soon... temporarily I'm living at my parents' place, and likely will be until September.  It's a pretty sweet gig for the meantime, and I'm grateful that I have a place to stay.


So how have I enjoyed my time back in the city???  FULLY.  The weekend I moved home just happened to be: Toronto Pride + the Canada Day long weekend + my sister's 30th birthday.  Does it get any better???  On June 30th, once all the moving craziness was done, I spent the evening celebrating 3 decades of my sister's life at the historic Lambton House (built in 1847) in the west end of Toronto.  She rented out a room at this great venue for a private party with a bar and her own DJ.  It was awesome - great music, great friends, quirky drinks (including "The '82" and "The Extra Dirty 30"), a dress code theme ("indie darling"... I was inspired by Hannah from "Girls"), and generally a lot of fun!


On Sunday, July 1, I woke up, showered, wore my finest combo of Pride and Canada Day-appropriate clothing, and headed down to the Church-Wellesley village to celebrate the gorgeous weather and the special day.  3 friends and I started the day off at Lola's Kitchen, which I believe I've mentioned before.  We were lucky enough to get a table on their patio and we took our sweet time enjoying many summery drinks (mimosas, Caesars, sangria, and watermelon spiked lemonade), their delicious food (I had the day's special: grilled cheese Benedict - delightful!), and the perfect combination of summer sun and heavenly breeze.  

Once we finished, we headed down Church St. from about Charles all the way to Carlton, checking out the vendors, people-watching, and generally taking it all in.  We crossed Carlton, down the subway stairs, and up to the corner of College & Yonge, and found a good spot to watch the parade out front of Hoops Bar, just north of College on the west side of Yonge.  It was a great spot to watch from, and despite feeling complacent about Pride every year when it comes around, once again I was overwhelmed by my own pride while watching the parade - pride for my city, my community, myself, and the amazing people I saw marching for various causes, all in the name of acceptance and gay pride.  Yes, I may be proud all year long, but what's the harm in marking a day to celebrate it in particular?  Nothing.  In fact, it's wonderful!!!


After about an hour or so of parade-watching, my girlfriend and I headed back up to her house for a Canada Day BBQ.  We ate snacks, drank beers, watched the Jays' game, sampled some delicious summery cocktails her sister put together (all tea-based... very cool), and then dug into the feast -- home-made burgers, corn on the cob, salads... TO DIE FOR.  Kudos to Steph for all her labour.  It was very well-received.


THEN we had the holiday Monday, on which we celebrated my sister's birthday again: the family edition.  We had a great little lunch in the backyard and then went to Canada Square movie theatre to watch "Take This Waltz", Canadian director Sarah Polley's second feature film, starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, and Sarah Silverman.  I don't want to go into too detailed a review of this film.  My feelings about it are complicated which makes me feel like Sarah Polley did exactly what she intended, which I respect and appreciate.  I loved how unashamedly she highlighted Toronto - it was such a thrill seeing the city displayed without trying to pretend it's somewhere else, presumably in the states.  The acting was really incredible, and there were some extremely powerful moments.  Overall I liked it and I'm glad I saw it.


The rest of the week was pretty uneventful.  I'm working part-time from a home office in Toronto which has been a great new routine to adjust to and I'm finding it to be a very productive situation.  I saw some apartments and actually applied for one yesterday (stay tuned!).  Then on Friday night I went to Mississauga for the evening with some of my very besties and had a very chill time, eating Thai food and watching "The Comeback".  

Saturday morning I woke up relatively early, my sister picked me up from my friend's in Mississauga, and we drove down the 401 + the 402 to Sarnia, ON, my mom's hometown, and where some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins live.  We spent 24 hours at my uncle's place, which used to be my grandparents' house, so I've been there many times before.  He's done some incredible work on the interior and it's so amazing to spend time there, filled with memories of the time spent there as a kid, but then to be surrounded by a beautiful variation on the place I've known so well.  We arrived around 3:30, spent some time relaxing and catching up with my aunt and uncle, and then my aunt tucked me into the hammock where I read Mockingjay and took a snooze.  [Aside: I'm finally getting back into Mockingjay.  I'm determined to finish it this month and move onto something totally new.]  After a snooze and a shower, I joined more family and friends for a perfect summer dinner: BBQ'd ribs.  It was a delicious meal with fabulous company and I went to bed fully satisfied and fell fast asleep with the sound of the waves in my ears.


Sunday morning we woke up early and after some breakfast down by the lake, we took 3 dogs (my sister's, uncle's, and aunt's) for a long walk down the shore.  The combo of sun and breeze was delicious and we took our sweet time walking.  When we got back to the house, I went for a swim.  The lake was more wavy than you would imagine, and I felt like a kid again - turns out 15 years later it's just as fun to jump into the waves as it was before.  After that we had sandwiches by the beach, a little more reading and sunbathing, and then we packed up the car and headed back to TO.


So - needless to say, life in TO is off to a wonderful start!  I can't wait for whatever comes next...

Birthday Week!!!!! / Discovering T.O. #7 / Port Hope Showcase

Last Monday, May 28, I turned twenty-five years old.  Quite a milestone, really.  I keep wishing I had some sort of letter from my younger self to my 25 year old self to see what I was expecting / hoping for.  The truth is though that it doesn't matter.  I couldn't be prouder of who I am and where I'm at in life, so letter or no letter, I'm one happy 25 year old...

...made happier by the fact that I had the most wonderful series of mini-celebrations of the day of my birth.  I'd like to tell you about them.

1) The Beamish House: locally just called "The Beamish", unfortunately this great pub and restaurant doesn't have a website.  Once a year the school that I work for throws a huge reunion weekend for its alumni celebrating 5, 10, 15, and so on reunions.  The weekend peaks with a dinner on the Saturday night on campus followed by an evening of debauchery, traditionally at The Beamish.  This small, quaint pub is taken over, and although its interior doesn't have much space, its patio is sprawling.  It's a great night, and two of my besties ventured out to Port Hope to enjoy the evening with me.  This was on May 26, but it kick-started birthday celebrations in just the right way.  Before they headed back to the city the next day, we indulged in the classic greasy spoon breakfast at Dimitri's in Port Hope.  I had the Grand Slam breakfast.  It may not have dill-infused hollandaise sauce drizzled all over it, but it did the job.

2) Jim's Pizza & Pasta: this is another classic Port Hope establishment that I highly recommend.  The truth is that this wasn't particularly the highlight of birthday celebrations, but I find that restaurants are a good anchor in this blog for other stories.  The real highlight was having my girlfriend come to PH on May 27 to have dinner, chill times, and then be there with me first-thing on my special day.  That said, grabbing dinner at Jim's Pizza is ALWAYS a delight.  This is my GF's favourite spot in Port Hope, and we always each get the pizza & salad combo.  With this combo, you get a small, 4-slice personal pizza with any 3 toppings you'd like PLUS a huge serving of delicious Caesar salad (Greek is also a choice, but I mean, really).  After our delicious dinner we bought some snacks and went home for a viewing of "Best In Show".

3) My Special Day itself: the authentic birthday day was no exception to the fun already had.  I woke up with the GF and opened a gift from her and from other family members who had sent theirs in advance.  Then I made us breakfast (she would've made it, but she likes the way I make eggs best!) and we lazily enjoyed the morning (I took it off from work), and then I drove her to Oshawa where she took the GO train back to Toronto.

I had a great day at work, complete with cheesecake shared with my colleagues!

When the work day was done, my Mom and sister came to Port Hope to take me to dinner.  And what a dinner it was!  We ate at Trattoria Gusto (finally a PH resto with a website).  I've eaten here 3-5 times before and it's very delicious.  I find that's a bit of an anomaly about Port Hope - not a lot to do, but 3-4 incredible restaurants!  We went all out, sharing a beet salad, calimari, and carpaccio to start, and then for my main I had the chicken parmesan, which was succulent.  We finished it off by sharing a decadent, rich brownie with a candle on top.  It was fantastic!!!

4) Old school gay village celebration: Even though I'd had my fair share of celebrations, I wanted to do it up right with a night out in Toronto, which went down this past Saturday, June 2.  I hemmed and hawed over how I wanted to celebrate, and it dawned on me - when was the last time I had a night out in the Church & Wellesley neighbourhood a.k.a. the gay village in Toronto?!?!  I came of age in that neighbourhood and came into my proud, gay self, and I have great memories (nostalgic already?) of drag queens and dance parties, so I thought - it's about time I go back.

This evening started with appetizers and drinks at Smith on Church St.  I'll be very honest with you -- I didn't really do my due diligence on Smith.  I basically looked for a restaurant in the village that had a few classy-looking/sounding appetizers and said, why not?  Full disclosure: all it took was seeing that Smith had a charcuterie board.  Charcuterie = class.  Thankfully my lack of research didn't result in 11 friends and I dining at a dive.  Smith had us seated at a long table set for 12 upstairs at the restaurant, with a big window, a fireplace (too hot for that though), and a view of the goings-on of Church St.  It had a great vibe and the drinks and food were great!  For the record, I did order the charcuterie board and I loved it.  I didn't look to see what was on it, but I did eat cow tongue and I enjoyed it!

After 3 lazy hours eating and drinking at Smith we head off to Zelda's new location on Yonge St. for a drink.  I ordered the "Proud Mary" (for its name only) and we left shortly after that.

Where did we go?  Where else does one go when they want an old school gay village celebration?  Buddies in Bad Times.  Buddies has such great music and so much sweaty and fun dancing on Saturday nights, and this past Saturday was no exception.  We danced and drank and had ourselves a great time until about 2:30 when last call was made and it was time to catch the late-night Yonge bus home.

Being 25 is off to a fabulous start, and many thanks to the friends, family members, and Port Hope/Toronto establishments that made my birthday celebrations so special!!!

Manicures & High Heels

In advance of my upcoming review of "Sex and the City", the entire series, I wanted to write (as promised) of how manicures and high heels make me feel.

I was a tomboy for all of my early years.  You could maybe still consider me one, I don't know.  I was the only girl at the boys' birthday parties.  I played hockey.  I frowned when my first pair of underpants had flowers on them (true story).  I put up an enormous fuss when told to put on a dress.  You get the picture...

As a result, despite growing up with 4 sisters, I missed some so-called crucial steps to "being a girl".  I could barely put my hair up in a ponytail at 14, I got dresses only for occasions that required them, and I think I applied mascara for the first time at 18.  Once again, you get the picture...

When I was in Turkey in the summer of '09 (can't believe it's already been that long), I told my mom and sister, who I was travelling with, that I wanted to quit biting my nails.  I'd been biting them (as you might remember) for at least 14 years, I would guess, and so it was a big undertaking.  The goal was to not bite them on the trip and reward myself with a manicure on the second leg of the trip in Abu Dhabi.  After all, where else would I get my first manicure???

The experience was in a word - and I'm not really exaggerating here - profound.  I never really got it.  Why paint your nails?!  What's the point?!  Do people think of you differently?  Does it make any difference at all?

Well, I can only speak from my own perspective, but yes, yes, yes.  It does make a difference.

Somehow, it makes me feel prettier.  I look at my hands and rather than just various shades of pink, I see these colourful nails that stand out and transform my fingers.  I feel elegant.  I feel more grown-up and professional.  I feel like people might think differently of me; that I take care of myself and take pride in my appearance.  Superficial?  Maybe... but also not, because the prettiness I feel goes deep.  I don't mean pretty in the shallow sense; I mean a full-body feeling of confidence and power.

[And as a side benefit, getting manicures really helps maintain the health of my nails and keeps me from wanting to bite them... 'cuz they're so pretty.]

I experienced the same thing recently when I bought my first pair of real high heels.  By real, I mean an actual heel (not the hilarious kitten heel), and not just plain, but with a bow and other ornaments.  I put my feet in them, stood up from the bench at the shoe store, and pulled my pant leg up.  My leg was completely transformed.  It looked more muscular, more feminine, and more defined.  My posture was different.  I felt different.  When I walk around in heels I feel tall and powerful, elegant and poised.  Once again, I know it may sound superficial, but it doesn't feel superficial.  It feels real, the feeling has depth, but at the end of the day I don't need to qualify it, I just need to enjoy the transformation.

On the reading list -- Still finishing up When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (loving it!  15 pages to go), and then I think I'll follow that up with The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (which has nothing to do with the film).

Post to come -- My thoughts on the series "Sex and the City" in its entirety & What's the deal with rc-4?

Holiday... Celebrate!!!

Just finished watching the first ep of season 8 (the final season) of "Entourage". Seeing a new episode of the show was a total delight after nearly a year of drought, but I'm not sure I'd say that the episode was a total EXPLOSION into the new - and last - season. However, it had some great moments, and it seemed to set up the next - and last - 7 episodes for some interesting story lines. The first ep of season 7 was also not a total hit, but the rest of the season was great, and I feel optimistic about season 8 as well. I can't wait for next Sunday - ahhhh!!!

The reason I didn't watch the episode until today - beyond the fact that I don't have HBO, which is sort of stupid - is that I was in Muskoka at a cottage my parents rented for a few weeks. I was there for 3 nights with my girlfriend, sister, and my sister's BF, and it was such a great time. It was the kick-off to a 10-day holiday from work that I'm currently on, and it started things off perfectly. I spent the 4 days sleeping, eating delicious cottage-y meals (read: lots of burgers), reading (more on that in a sec), swimming, went for a kayak, a few short boat rides, lying in the sun, and playing a really fun card game (a sort of re-working of my fave - "war") that the GF taught me (I believe the end tally was 20-16 for the GF).

So reading... I don't think I've posted about the reading challenge for a while. That's because after I hit the half-way point I fell into a bit of a slump. I tried a few books, fiction and non-fiction, but couldn't get into anything. One day I was chatting with my boss and asked him if he was much of a reader. Turns out he is and we have similar taste in books (one of his favourite authors is John Irving, so I knew we were onto something). I asked him if he had any recommendations and he suggested No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod. If you didn't know already, my goal is to try not to buy any new books and instead get through the ones on my bookshelf that I haven't read (which is about 60%... more like a bookstore than a personal library). It just so happens that I already own No Great Mischief so I pulled it off the shelf and started to read it. I finished it this morning before I left the cottage and absolutely loved it!!! A great read for Canadians with a Scottish family history... especially those who are still very connected to that history. I'd say I both am and am not... the book definitely makes me want to reconnect more.

Anyway, as I said, I'm off to a great start on this holiday. Toronto for the next few days, then a secret adventure (more on that later this week), a trip to Waterloo for a wedding, and then some more chill time in TO before back to PH on the holiday Monday. It will be glorious... now for some serious chillage in front of the TV.

Remember

I saw a beautiful thing happen this morning.

I was on the bus coming home and I got off at my stop as usual, but I noticed the bus hadn't pulled away from the stop yet. So I turned around and watched as the bus driver got off the bus, stood in front of it, took off his hat, and put his hand on his heart. I looked at my phone and it was 11:00am. He stood there for a good 3-4 minutes, so I stood too.

I don't know if he was asked to do that by his boss.
I don't know if he has/had a family member who fought in the war.
I don't know.

It was beautiful.

I remember my grandpa today.