Archive for
August, 2009
August 30th, 2009
It seems I’ve made it through my 5th day of work. Only two more days to go and then I’ll have a day off. I’m thinking about how I’ll want to spend the day.
So Andrew invited me to a small charity event last night called Arrhythmia 2009. It was held at Art Square Café, a boutique café near the AGO. The venue was quite cute with a small art exhibit. Andrew introduced me to some of his friends, but besides Eric and his girlfriend, I don’t remember very many of the others. Eric’s girlfriend, Mariam, mentioned that her father owns Domani Restaurant & Wine Bar. I recall the restaurant on the Summerlicious listing. I definitely want to check out the restaurant at some point.
I had a good time mingling among strangers and watching the live performances. There was a hula dancer, a beatboxer (who was actually really good), and this guy with a beautiful voice who sang “Killing Me Softly” and a number of JT tracks. That dude was good too.
Eric later invited us to his aunt’s party, and what was supposed to be a walk to get the car turned into…well, a walk. Andrew and I ended up just going on spontaneous walks in different places. After picking up some Starbucks and grabbing some grub, we went down to the waterfront. Andrew took me for a walk through the Music Garden, which I had no idea it even existed. Even though it was dark, it seemed like a beautiful place I would enjoy. I’d really love to go back there some time to see the garden in daylight.
Then we drove over to the Distillery District and took a walk there. Andrew showed me the places he worked security at. I got to take a few nice pictures. But I must say, the wonderful thing about the night was the fact that I could just hang out with a friend, do spontaneous things, and not worry about it being mistakened as a date. Sometimes, it’s just nice to be able to do that. Anyway, I’ll leave that topic for further discussion in a future post.
This coming week’s outing will be at the Drake Underground on Thursday night. Our pal The iDC is opening for Tiny Danza. Now that we’ve been named “official fans” of the iDC (lol) of course we’ll be there to show some support. So if any of you are free this Thursday, September 3rd @ 9pm, come on over. I’ll see you there!
Alright, I’m heading out for a drink/dessert with Pam now. She’s leaving to Ottawa for law school, so we’ve got a lot of catching up to do tonight before she leaves!
August 27th, 2009
So for those who remember, my summer love of 2008 was Phi from the Jabbawockeez. THIS summer, I thought it’d be nice to switch things up a little. Let me reveal my summer love of 2009.
There he is! Kev Nish from Far*East Movement.
I think he has an incredibly cute smile. (Yes, I seem to have an attraction to smiles. Smiles and eyes.) I love the way he talks too. That aside, I totally love their music. I think my heart melts a little every time I hear Kev’s verse in “You’ve Got a Friend”.
If you haven’t heard of Far*East Movement yet, you should definitely check them out. They’re rockin’ some really sick beats. I personally LOVE “Animal” and “Get That Money”.
Alright…come on, let’s dance!
(All photos courtesy of FarEastMovement.com)
August 25th, 2009
Oh wait, I’ve already gone! lol I’ve been wanting to go to The Ex (or CNE, whichever you prefer to call it) for a few years now. I haven’t gone since the last time I was there in 2001 when I performed at the Bandshell for Chinese Day @ CNE. I just love going to fairs and carnivals!
Aaron, Andrew, John Y., Omar and I went on Sunday after I finished work. It turned out Omar and John Y. had never been to the CNE before so we kind of showed them around. We had been there for no more than 10 minutes when Andrew played the pool game and won himself a Knuckles (the Enchida from Sonic the Hedgehog). It was way too easily won. I would’ve wanted one of those monkeys that came out of a banana. I thought they were SO CUTE! :)
Since we weren’t going on any of the rides, we decided to walk over to Ontario Place for a bit before going back to the CNE for food. It was a nice walk by the lake.
DO NOT GET SPAGHETTI WITH MEATBALLS AT THE 99 CENT SPAGHETTI PLACE!! I was so tempted to get spaghetti with meatballs for $3.99, but after seeing the super tiny bowl of spaghetti and 3 meatballs that Andrew got I was glad I didn’t drop my money there. That place is a TOTAL rip off! Instead, I spent $5.50 on a yummy Montreal Deli Corned Beef Sandwich that was packed with meat. (I wish I had taken a picture of it; your mouth would be watering right now.) It was SO DAMN GOOD! Best $5.50 I’ve ever spent on a dinner lol Anyone hitting up The Ex should definitely try it.
At 7pm, we went to Ricoh for the Movie Magic: Aerial Acrobatics & Ice Skating Show starring Elvis Stojko. I was so excited to see him skate live. He was definitely my favourite male figure skater; I still remember watching him skate on tv at the 1998 Olympics. To see him live was really special, especially now that he’s retired from skating. The guys weren’t particularly keen on the idea of seeing a skate show at first, but they ended up having a good time watching the acrobatic performance so it worked out for everyone.
Before we left, Andrew made a pit stop to pick up a Deep Fried Mars Bar. While waiting for the Mars bar, he decided to try the $5.00 “Bacon Dipped in Chocolate” (see above picture). I think besides Andrew, we were all pretty grossed out. $10 for a future heart attack. Not too pricey eh? lol
So that was CNE 2009 for me in a nutshell. I’d like to go back one day, just to blow some money on playing games that were created to rob people. I also passed on the Tiny Tom Donuts, as well as the cotton candy. I guess all of that will have to wait until next time.
The first of the farewells for the summer has begun. Last night was Lindsay’s farewell dinner at Mezza Notte. A few of us got together just to catch up and enjoy dinner. We all had a good time. It was a good wrap up to another eventful week of mine. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be working 7 days straight. Oh, I just can’t wait…
August 25th, 2009
A couple months ago, I received a letter notifying me that I’ve been selected for potential jury duty. I figured the odds of actually having to attend were slim, so I filled out and sent back the paperwork thinking that was the end of that. But I guess there’s just no way of escaping fate. I came home tonight to a letter sitting on my desk.
Yup, I’ve been summoned for jury duty.
It’s not that I mind going and all. They just have me scheduled at a very bad time: the day after my birthday!! Not only will I (most likely) be working both my jobs the day of my birthday - meaning a 13 hour work day that ends at midnight, now I have to worry about being downtown for 8:30am. This is just great!
To add fuel to fire, it’ll be changeover week at Chapters (hence why I’ll be working the Sunday night). It’s the most busy time of the month at work, especially with the Jewish holidays at the end of the week. I’m the only non-Jewish employee at my other job so I’ll probably be working all through the weekend alone. And this all happens around and after my birthday! Way to start off the second quarter, eh. So much for celebrating :p
Now that I’ve vented, maybe I’ll sleep better tonight. Update on my day at CNE tomorrow. Perhaps I should reveal my summer love as well? hehehe
Good night! :)
August 20th, 2009
I’ve always enjoyed live shows. Maybe it’s from being a dancer; you really come to appreciate the time that an artist has on stage. It’s just so…raw. Anyway, Adrienne, Danny and I went to Lee’s Palace on Sunday night for our friend’s gig. It was our first time at Lee’s, and just as I expected it was rather grimy there. The music was great though!
Like I mentioned in my last post, our friend Paul goes by the alias The Identity Crisis. Really cool and talented guy. He just dropped a new single yesterday and it’s available for download on his site, as well as iTunes. Did I mention it’s…FOR FREE?!! Definitely check him out! His stuff is quite different.
After the show, we all went out for a bite. Paul was starving and the only thing open in the area was Pizza Pizza, so we ended up there by default. It was a bad idea to have pizza at 1am. Their slices of “super” pizza, otherwise known as “deluxe”, were practically uncooked. Andrew sent his slice back twice for the oven. When Danny got his, the green peppers on his slice were (according to Andrew) “so fresh you can piece them together and bring it back to the supermarket”. hahaha Good times! lol
Today was my day off. Since I haven’t seen my bestest in over a month, I thought it was about time to do some catching up with her. Vanesa and I went downtown and had lunch at Sushi Inn in Yorkville. After lunch, I made a point for us to stop by the Tim Hortons at Bay & Bloor. Forget the coffee (or tea, in my case). It was all about the ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s a must! I had the Cookie Doughn’t You Want Someâ„¢, which consisted of French Vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips, fudge, and cookie dough. It was rrrrrreally yummy, except I was so full I couldn’t finish it. I recommend you get the “Like It” size instead of the “Love It” size, unless you’re having ice cream on an empty stomach or if you plan to skip your next meal :p
Vanesa and I spent the remainder of our afternoon walking down Yonge Street. She had to pick up a birthday present for her boyfriend, so we went shopping for….errrr, “toys”. It was quite an interesting afternoon indeed ;)
Alright, time to get some shut eye. Let me leave you with some music. Just a few songs from my current playlist. Enjoy!
August 16th, 2009
My co-worker from Chapters dropped by to visit me at my work downtown today, so we went for a walk around downtown after I was finished work. John Y. moved to Toronto about 5 years ago but hasn’t really explored much of our city. Since it was such a nice day, I decided to take him for a walk down to the harbourfront so he can take his wife there when she comes. After the walk, we ended up back up at Queen Street for sushi.
Sunday night, I’m hitting up Lee’s Palace with Adrienne and Danny. Our friend Paul, aka The iDC, has a gig there so we’re going to show some support. Check out The Identity Crisis’ Myspace for his music. Or if you’re around downtown, drop by Lee’s Palace!
August 12th, 2009
Whoever said size doesn’t matter was absolutely WRONG. Apparently, size can make a HUGE difference! …at least when it’s steak we’re talking about. (What were YOU thinking?! haha)
I went out for dinner at Moxies with Omar and Aaron last night after work. I have almost always enjoyed my steak there (although I have questioned if it’s the baked stuffed potatoe that I’m really after). Instead of ordering my usual, I tried the Peppercorn New York Steak. Little did I know, it was served as a 10oz steak instead of the 8oz I usually have. The 2 ounces actually made a HUGE difference and I felt SO full by the time I finished my meal. And when I say full, I mean full to the point where I couldn’t stop complaining to the guys about just how full I felt.
If I had a typical 8oz steak, I could probably fit in dessert comfortably. 10oz meant no dessert and a night feeling horrible. That’s a lesson learned.
August 11th, 2009
Tonight, I wrote the final exam for my Event Planning course. I’m happy to announce that I am officially finished my classes for the semester! WOOHOO!!! =D Honestly, I spent very little time studying for the exam because I’ve been so tired lately and have been using my spare time to rest and nap. I was pretty confident with it since I knew I had already accumulated enough marks to pass the course. That’s why I wasn’t even stressed over the exam. Okay, maybe I was a little nervous. Just a little though ;)
There’s quite a bit that I want to blog about, but I guess I’ll save that for next time. Before I go, I just wanted to direct your attention to this short film my friend acted in. It’s called “Just a Love Story”. I think Morris did a really good job acting in it. The twist in the story line makes it kind of interesting. You might need to understand Mandarin to get the whole idea though. Check it out! (Just click on the banner below)
August 5th, 2009
What a long weekend! …or should I say, What a LONG long weekend! lol I’m in dire need of some quality sleep to make up for the lack of it these days. I had about three hours of sleep before our road trip on Sunday. Needless to say, I was pretty pooped by the time we hit the road.
Danny picked me up at about 7am that morning. After we picked up Adrienne, we made a few pit-stops downtown for gas, Starbucks, and Timmies before officially starting our journey. Sure enough, it started raining as soon as we left the city. Our first stop was in Niagara Falls for breakfast at Denny’s.
Danny and I had been craving Denny’s breakfast since the last time we had it in ‘Sauga after Paul’s gig. (I secretly don’t think it’s possible to ever get a real Denny’s fix; it’s too addictive lol) While Danny had the Heartland Scramble, I tried the Meat Lover’s Scramble, and Adrienne had the…errr, SENIOR Breakfast hahaha The look on our waiter’s face was priceless when he set down the “senior” meal in front Adrienne. I think he was a little bit confused lol
By the time we finished breakfast, it had stopped raining and the sun had came out. The weather was beautiful and it pretty much remained that way for the rest of the day. The drive to Buffalo was enjoyable (I love riding long distance!). Adri was so tired she fell asleep in the car. We were lucky to have Mr. Solo driving; not only did he make sure his passengers were comfortable throughout the ride, he also always had good music playing.
Our first stop was at the Fashion Outlets. There really wasn’t anything good to buy there. We were pretty much out of there in an hour. Then we were back in the car to head over to Walden Galleria. Adrienne fell asleep again as soon as we got in the car. Boy was she tired! :p
We were lucky we weren’t traveling in the opposite direction on the freeway. There was an accident on the bridge and the two-lane road was completely backlogged. The length of the traffic jam was equivalent to us driving 8 minutes in the opposite direction. You can imagine how long those guys had to sit and wait, not knowing what happened up ahead.
Shopping at Walden was alright, not much to buy either. We spent the remainder of the day there and only ended up finishing the bottom level. Dinner was between The Cheesecake Factory or the Melting Pot. We ended up at the CF because it had a larger menu.
The food was yummy, but we had the dumbest waiter around. He messed up on something every time he came by. Besides the poor service of our waiter and the fact that Adrienne and I just about froze to death sitting under the AC vent, we had a good time there. We just sat and chatted until about 10:45pm. After we left the restaurant, I suggested we take a long walk around the mall. I love the feeling of walking through an empty mall when everything has closed and the lights have dimmed. We played with gum ball machines, danced to music that played from inside stores, and Adrienne even tried sitting in the little “mall racer” carts lol It was fun! :)
Danny’s car was the only car left in the lot when we finally made it outside. We just hung around chatting under the parking lot lights until Danny decided to take a nap before hitting the road. Adrienne and I couldn’t stop laughing at Danny’s getup; he tried to sleep in the back seat with a sweater around his neck as a pillow and sunglasses on to keep the lights out of his eyes. He looked like he was tanning in the dark! lol It was hilarious!! While Danny and Adrienne took an hour nap, I just sat in the car and enjoyed an hour of peace and quiet. I watched the clouds float across the night sky and it was interesting to see it turn from cloudy to completely clear skies.
It was about 2am when we hit the road again. We stopped by Duty-free on our way back and Adrienne got to make out with Jack Daniel there LOL ;) It was 5:30am when Danny dropped me home. I was extremely tired but the sun had begun to rise, so I stayed up to watch the sunrise for a little bit before I crawled into bed at 6am.
August 2nd, 2009
While everyone seemed to be tweeting TGIF, I found yesterday to be one sad Friday. It was the last of many planned “dates” with Adrienne during the month of July. In the past 31 days, we’ve done everything from shopping, dining, drinking, to live shows. This could have easily been the best July I’ve had in a LONG time.
Compared to our other “dates”, yesterday was quite mellow. After meeting up, we went to Queens Quay Terminal for a quick bite. It was love at first sight for me when I walked into Sobey’s and saw it. Yes, I knew right away that it was going to be mine, that slice of yummy Jamocha Almond Fudge Cake ;)
We spent most of the afternoon at the lake taking pictures. There was this little arch that we discovered in a random location. We ended up using it as a backdrop to our photos.
At around 5pm, we took a walk up to the Entertainment District for dinner at Joe Mamas. It was nice going back there since we had discovered this cute little restaurant together 4 years ago and haven’t been back since. Adrienne and I ordered the same salad we had the first/last time we were there - the Grilled Tiger Shrimp Salad. Get this, it consists of tiger shrimp, watermelon, mango, avocado, strawberries and blueberries on a bed of home greens tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. It is possibly THE best summer salad around.
After our mini dinner, we went to see The Sound of Music. I really enjoyed it! Sure, it’s a classic and all, but I must admit the performers really did an exceptional job. Elicia MacKenzie was GREAT acting as Maria. I particularly admired the little girl who acted as Gretl. She was something like 5 years old, yet she had no problems remember all her lines and music. By the end of the show, Adrienne and I wanted to take her home hehehe
As per our usual routine, we went to Milestones after the show for drinks. We had our 2nd dinner there, which consisted of the Spicy Thai Chicken Drummettes and Calamari Steak Strips. I loved the drummettes, but wasn’t too crazy about the calamari (especially when they were in strips). As for the icing on the cake, I couldn’t resist my temptations for the White Chocolate Cheesecake. It is definitely one of my favourite desserts in the city!
We had completely forgotten that it was Caribana weekend. By the time we left at 2:30am, the streets were flooded with people. It was pretty much impossible to stand at the corner of King and John without random guys approaching us in some way. I’m quite glad to be getting out of the city for the day tomorrow as the craziness winds down.
So July came and went just like that. Let’s welcome in August, shall we? :)
