The Hunger Lames

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins… everyone was talking about it, my girlfriend devoured the trilogy, and – despite my biggest deterrent: hype – I was intrigued enough to dive into the series.  

I liked reading the first installment (The Hunger Games) because it was easy and quick to read, the chapters were short (which can be a really nice thing), and because it was a literary idea like I’d never read before.  It was imaginative, original, creative, and fascinating; these are great elements in a novel.

I started reading Catching Fire (the second book of the three) because I had to know what happened next.  I read this novel even more quickly than the first.  I loved this one in particular because it went in a direction that I had never predicted.  It was surprising and even more engaging than its predecessor.  I was hooked!

Then I moved on to Mockingjay and I faltered.  I pushed through the first bit and then couldn’t get hooked again.  It lay gathering dust on my kitchen table for weeks… I think it took me nearly 2.5 months, if not more, to get through it in the end.  It just didn’t deliver like the others did.  Sure, it was a new story, but it wasn’t that same action-packed, page-turning excitement that had me racing through the first two. 

Then – worst of all – the ending fell flat.  I liked what I gathered some of the overarching themes were, bleak as some of them may be, but it was just so… unsatisfying.  It wrapped up too quickly without enough loose end-tying.  It just kind of went splat – there you go, it’s over.  The definition of anticlimactic.

Was it worth the read?  Absolutely.  But as my friend Waleed said, “It’s not a good sign when you’re really happy you’re done.”

[This whole unsatisfying experience was heightened by the sigh of relief and overwhelming sense of sustenance I felt when I dove into my current read: In One Person by John Irving.]

Posts to come... a full update on Reading Challenge #4 + anniversary dinner at Yours Truly & a beer beforehand

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)

Discovering T.O. #8

Guess what?!  I got an apartment!!!  Yes, ma'am, I gave the super first and last and it's official: I will be moving into my 1-bedroom apartment on September 1st.  Closest intersection?  Yonge & Eglinton.  I'm a happy camper!

In other news, I continue to discover Toronto and love to tell you about it.  Here's what I did yesterday:

After a good night out in the Village on Saturday evening, a girl craves a delicious brunch, and that's what I got on Sunday at noon.  My GF & I had never been to Lady Marmalade in Leslieville, but she heard it was great, so we headed east to check it out.  It was as good as they say!  Very unique atmosphere, not too long a wait (but a long enough line that you know it's worth waiting), relatively quick and attentive service, and - the most important part - DELICIOUS food.  I checked in on FourSquare when I got there and many of the tips recommended the bacon, brie, and avocado eggs Benedict.  Being a huge eggs benny fan myself, I had to go with it, and it was divine!  It came with a small serving of potatoes and a delicious side salad.  I also discovered the merits of tomato juice as my beverage.  I really wanted a Caesar, but they weren't licensed, so I took a straight up TJ instead.  Yummy!  Would go back to LM in a second.

**Note: Lady Marmalade is cash only.

From there we headed to Cherry St. to the launch to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club to spend the afternoon on the island.  We wandered around the RCYC for a bit and then headed from there to Centre Island to do some exploring.  As we walked along to the "main drag", we saw tonnes of people on two-seated quadricycles peddling around.  It looked like so much fun and they all looked so happy, so we rushed to get our own.  For $17 you got the quadricycle for an hour, and it was just as fun to ride as it looked.  We biked for the full hour, sharing steering privileges and stopping once to get on some swings we drove by.  It was a blast!  I kept saying, it seemed like exactly the way a person is meant to spend a Sunday in the summer in Toronto.  Now that I'm officially a resident of the city, that's exactly what I want to be doing!!!  After biking, we went and dipped our feet into the wading pool/fountain, lay on the grass, climbed a tree, and then headed back to the clubhouse for a bite, which was perfect timing as it started pouring rain.  Around 5:30 we headed back to the mainland and wrapped up the night with some TV time.

Another fabulous time discovering T.O.

My 5 Favourite Foods

My friends and I had an impromptu session last week of naming our five favourite foods.


Here are mine:

1. Thai red beef curry (there are so many versions that I love, but a memorable one comes from Thai Viet Restaurant in Waterloo)
2. Guacamole (the best I've ever had [including Mexico City guacs] is from Frida on Eglinton West)
3. Seafood pasta (Linguini di Mari from John's Italian Caffe in Baldwin Village & Spaghetti Positano from Roberto's [Yonge-Lawrence area], for example)
4. Sushi from Niko Niko in Waterloo - sushi on its own is great and I have other preferred places, but nothing beats Niko
5. The last food took some careful thought and deliberation, but I landed on something I make regularly myself: peeli daal.  My peeli daal - or should I say, my friend Waleed's peeli daal, a recipe which he passed on to me - is simple, fresh, delicious, and has become a total comfort food.

Bon appetit!!!

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...

rc-4: Kelly Cutrone enlightens

Guess what?!?  10 more days until I move to Toronto.


In other news, it's been a while since I updated you on Reading Challenge #4 a.k.a. rc-4.  Almost 6 months in and 7 books down.  Not bad, but I'm going to have to kick it up a notch to reach my goal of 20 books in 2012.


My latest read (which I finished this morning) was If You Have to Cry, Go Outside by Kelly Cutrone -- Fashion PR Queen of New York: known for dressing in black, speaking her mind, and appearing on a variety of reality television shows, from "The Hills" to her own, "Kell On Earth".


The book wasn't what I expected.  I had been unsuccessfully reading Mockingjay, the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy.  I had really hoped to read the trilogy without stopping, but I regret to say that Mockingjay simply did not hook me.  The first book, The Hunger Games was fascinating throughout, hard to put down.  Catching Fire was so far from what I expected that it kept me engaged the whole time.  Mockingjay, on the other hand, was such a change of pace (read: slow) and just a whole other kind of story that I couldn't push through the first third.  It's now gathering dust on my kitchen table.  I'll try to get back to it next, but I won't force it.  I will finish it soon enough (everyone says it's worth pushing through for the sake of the ending), but if I'm not engaged, I'm not engaged.


Anyway, back to KC's "memoir".  First of all, I'd been reading The Hunger Games, so moving from that to a PR powerhouse's memoir, if you want to call it that, was a tough transition.  Secondly, feeling somewhat well-versed in spiritual language and ideals, it felt a bit rich to have spiritual advice coming from someone who I've seen straight-up call someone on their eating disorder in the middle of a bar on "The City".  However, when I got past my skepticism, I started to realize that Ms. Cutrone genuinely had a lot to offer.  She tells her own story - which is tumultuous and comes with all sorts of twists and turns - interspersed with both business-related advice as well as spiritual suggestions.  It's got a good flow, a fresh tone, and I actually got a lot out of it.  Definitely worth a read if you're looking for something different and light.  We'll see what I get to reading next.

rc-4 so far...

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

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!!!