Some things I want to share

I'm fully moved out of my Toronto apartment.
The apartment my girlfriend K and I (plus Spoon the cat) called home from September 2012 is now empty... at least of our stuff.  I haven't been living in the apartment since late January, but this past Friday we took out the last of it.  It feels bittersweet, as it has when I've moved out of every place I've lived in, but perhaps this one especially.  It was K's and my home; our first space together, and it really was special to get a cat together, too.  The kitchen was almost unbearably small, and now that I'm living in a relatively huge place, it's sort of a wonder how we lived in that small apartment.  But it was home, and it was ours, and I loved it.

The sweet part is twofold: a new, big apartment to call home, but also, there was something mentally difficult about straddling two places for a month.  It was unsettling.  Clearing it out of the last of the stuff felt really therapeutic.

K has not yet joined me in our new place in Waterloo.  She will, but she has to wrap up some things of her own in Toronto for the next few months, so she'll likely join me in the summer.  It's hard, of course, but our relationship is so strong, so we're getting by just fine.  Plus, when she joins me, she'll be ready for a fresh start, too, and that's a better time to move anyway... when you don't have too much left behind.

The 158-Pound Marriage
I read my second book of 2014: John Irving's The 158-Pound Marriage.  I believe this is one of Irving's first novels.  I've owned it for quite a while and have taken at least two stabs at it before, never finishing it.  This time I did.  After I read my first novel of 2014, The Devil Wears Prada, Irving felt appropriate because he's always so substantial and TDWP was anything but.  And it was substantial, but I was left unsatisfied... probably to a larger degree than usual because I expect so much of Irving's books... but maybe it being one of his earlier ones was the reason why.  Maybe I just didn't "get" it like I usually do.  Maybe I couldn't relate to it.  I'm not sure.  It wasn't bad, but it just didn't meet my expectations.

"Homeland"
Then there's something that exceeded my expectations.  "Homeland", the television show starring Claire Danes, among others.  Oh. My. God.  SO GOOD!!!  I started it last Monday when I took a day off and was in search of something new and wonderful to watch, and I finished first season yesterday when I was home sick.  The season was incredible.  I spent part of it wondering how there could be a second season, but the season finale made it clear that there is a lot more material to tap into.  The other crazy thing (pun intended?) was how Claire Danes really started showing her stuff in the last two episodes of the season.  She's such an amazing actress, and was throughout all of the episodes, but the stuff people really raved about was most apparent in the last episodes.  It was the kind of high-quality acting that I saw so much of in her movie "Temple Grandin".  She has a well of emotion, from one extreme to another, that makes her perfect for the character of Carrie Mathieson.  I wish season 2 was on Netflix.  I'll have to watch it by other means...

The Time Traveller's Wife
I've said it before: finding a new book to read is always a struggle.  I woke up extra early this morning as I was off sick yesterday and went to bed really early, and also wanted to have lots of time this morning to ease my way back into good health and readiness for work.  Before having coffee and breakfast, I scanned my bookshelf and settled on The Time Traveller's Wife.  I saw this movie ages ago when it was in theatres, and my friend who I saw it with had read and loved the book.  I really enjoyed the movie, but was a bit uncertain about how good the book could be.  I sped through 20 pages this morning.  It's fantastic!  Much better written than I anticipated (I'm a snob) and the story is so interesting.  I can't wait for more!

I spent part of my sick day organizing my office/guest room.
My first visitor - W! - is coming for the weekend and I'm so excited.  I finally live in a place that has a dedicated guest room.  A guest room is great for so many reasons, one of which is the fact that you have a place to hide stuff you don't feel like dealing with.  It was the only place in my apartment with boxes that I hadn't emptied, partly because they weren't urgent, and partly because I knew they were full of miscellany that I didn't want to deal with.  However, yesterday was pretty much my only chance to tackle the craziness, and I did with vigour!  I dumped the boxes on the bed and slowly but surely - and with lots of breaks - put stuff where it belonged.  It's not fully dealt with, but the bed and floor is clear, the desk isn't too cluttered with stuff, and it generally looks welcoming.  I have to deal with the closet and figure out a long-term organizing strategy, but that can happen later.  For now, it's clean and ready for W, and that's all I can ask for.

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!

Week 3

I don't even know what to write about today, but I feel like writing...

I'm on Week 3 at the new job and I'm loving every minute of it.  It's very independent work, so I really have to plan and execute my own agenda on a daily basis.  I love that, but it can be a challenge when you're first starting out in a new position.  However, my strategy is to take that to mean a great deal of trust and respect for how I work and the work I do, and I would never abuse that.  If nobody's looking over your shoulder, you have to make an effort to put your work in front of them now and again just to show you're doing it. That's my approach, for what it's worth.

I'm also on Week 3 of living in Waterloo, though in a new capacity: I have my own apartment now!!!  Yes, my girlfriend K. and I got possession of the new place on Saturday and it's better than we remembered!  As I think I've mentioned, it will remain mostly empty until February 22nd when the full move from Toronto takes place, but it's off to a good start with Internet, a bed, and a coffee maker.  What else do you need?!  It was really nice to be able to wake up and go through my pre-work morning routine today without any obstacles.  I may be missing a few material items here and there... and a couch... and a TV... and a 1/4 cup measuring cup... but I'm managing just fine!

All for now!

Currently reading... The Devil Wears Prada

Hobbies

A thought occurred to me tonight as I sat in the Four Seasons Centre watching the working rehearsal of Cosi fan tutte: I need a hobby. I'm a busy person, but at this point it's usually work + gym + hanging out + watching TV. If someone asked, "What are you interested in?" I'm not sure what I'd say. I might say "music", but aside from listening to it, how do I take an interest in it? I like "opera", but that interest doesn't go far beyond seeing the occasional performance or listening to my girlfriend K. sing or talk about it. And when I watch TV and movies, it's often just re-watching shows and movies I've already seen before.

So here's one of my resolutions for 2014: actively cultivate interests and hobbies. If I like reading, I ought to read. If I'm so interested in opera, I'm going to listen to it regularly and read about if and form opinions on it. This may sound forced, but maybe I need to put some effort into cultivating interests to begin with. It's easy to marathon "The O.C." on DVD, but it's more difficult to decide to watch a new documentary every week.

Whatever I want to dive into, I'd like to do it wholeheartedly.

Watch out, world!

I'd like to thank the Academy...

I can't believe I haven't updated this blog in over a month.  I hate looking at my favourite blogs and not seeing an update, and I try not to let that happen with S&G, but oh well...

Life is good... but busy!!!, which explains the lack of blogging.  Although I am not a teacher, I do work at a school and so the energy inevitably comes back to campus and my workload the moment the academic year starts again.  I love it though!  During the summer I am so bored, and although it's nice to have a break and have things quiet down a bit, I much prefer overwhelmingly busy to overwhelmingly bored.  Always.

Right now my plate is full of work associated with an event that takes place this Tuesday, so the end is in sight!  Things are in good shape so it's just a matter of working my butt off until Tuesday at around 10:00 pm, spending the rest of the week doing the follow-up on the event, and then... well, starting work on the next event, which takes place on November 6th.  And then when that's over, I'll work on the next event, which takes place on January 18th... and then I have a bit of a break.  Event-planning is hard... and I'm not even an event planner.  Oh well!

In other news, I have not been reading.  I really need to make time to read, but I always want to do something mindless when I'm not working.  I will try to get reading back into my life.

And the award for the most boring blog update goes to...


Currently reading: Nothing.
Posts to come: My thoughts on "Orange is the New Black"... eventually...