what a weekend!

It’s been a pretty crazy weekend at the hotel. I knew the Miami Heat were checked-in when I arrived at work on Friday, so running into them wasn’t going to be a surprise. What ended up being an unexpected surprise was seeing Mario sitting in the lobby. I had no idea he was in town for a gig at Kool Haus that night, nor did I know he was staying at our hotel. I almost didn’t recognize him.

Before the Miami Heat checked out of the hotel for their game at the ACC, a few of the guys from the team came by our store. Basketball players don’t usually end up buying at our store because they’re super tall and don’t fit into normal size shirts like ours, but occasionally they’ll buy accessories from us.

That was the case when Jamaal Magloire stopped by. He picked up a tie, belt, socks and boxers. My co-worker told him to come by if he needed help tying the tie and even joked that we have a small stool for me to stand on. Jamaal turned out to be a very nice guy and we had a good conversation with him during his short stay. He even told me he lives in Scarborough, not too far away from where I live.

I also met two of Heat’s assistant coaches on Friday - David Fizdale and Keith Askins. Coach Askins was awesome; he was singing when he walked into our store and continued singing to our radio as he browsed. I sold him this dragon belt buckle and this set of huge crystal wrap-around cufflinks. I wonder if he wore them that night. Before he left, he introduced himself to me as Keith and shook my hand. I thought that was very nice of him :) Right before the team left the hotel, Coach Fizdale came by and I sold him a blue Dolce Punta tie, which he was supposed to wear to the game that night. (Did anyone see him with it?) Before he left, he joked and called me cute lol

It wasn’t until Sunday when I logged into my Twitter account that I realized my tweet about the Miami Heat was acknowledged and they had actually hit me back! I honestly didn’t think they would’ve picked up my tweet. Go figure!

Saturday was another exciting day. The Miami Heat had checked out and the Orlando Magic had checked in over night. The boys went for practice in the afternoon and I watched them wander down to the bus in their hoodies and sweats. It’s always kind of funny when people in the lobby whisper to each other, wondering if they’ve just spotted a basketball player because they have no idea they’re staying at the same hotel as a basketball team lol

The highlight of my Saturday had to be my $4200 sale. It’s the biggest single sale I’ve had since I started working at the store. Two business partners, 10 shirts, 6 ties, 2 pairs of cufflinks, 6 pairs of socks, and 1 set of Björn Borg boxers. And that was all with a 20% birthday discount. I almost wish I didn’t have to let him use his discount, it would’ve been an even better sale!

Sunday was inventory day at the store. Not quite as exciting as the previous days but we did have Rashard Lewis of Orlando Magic stop by for some cufflinks. He walked off with a very nice pair that matched his jacket to the tee. To my surprise, he was actually a lot nicer than I expected him to be, but “Superman” Dwight Howard is still my favourite. No questions there.

’tis the season for awful back pains

You know (well…I know) Christmas is quickly approaching when I get incredibly painful backaches. I suppose it’s kind of like those people who can sense the rain is coming when their knees hurt :p I’ve been MIA for most of the last two weeks because of how exhausted I’ve been. It’s that time of the year when rest is priority, especially now that I start work at the ungodly hour of 6am. I’ll save you all from my rant about my stresses and worries. A quick post before I gotta hit the sack.

i’m graduating…again!

I finally submitted my request for graduation last week, which means I will officially be graduating from the Travel & Tourism certificate program in the Winter semester. I missed the deadline for Fall convocation because I was waiting for a request for advance standing to go through for a one-day course that was completely pointless for me to take. On one hand, I’m glad to know it’s finally over. But on the other hand, I guess it’s time to consider what my next step will be.

battle of the blades

Who’s been watching Battle of the Blades?! Ever since I heard about the idea of the show, I thought it was a great idea to pair figures skaters with hockey players to compete in figure skating. I’ve been following the show for 7 weeks and has been cheering for Shae-Lynn Bourne and Claude Lemieux. The season wrapped up Monday night to my disappointment when Jamie Salé and Craig Simpson won. I truly believe Shae and Claude’s overall performance was much better, but I must admit Jamie and Craig’s last performance was slightly more captivating. Oh well, I look forward to next season. Wonder if Doug Gilmour will participate…heheh

this is it

I ended up watching This Is It the other night purely out of curiosity. Perhaps it was because I didn’t have any expectations at all, I found the movie interesting enough to get me through to the end. I’ve always had an interest in ‘behind the scenes’ stuff, so this movie gave me plenty of that. Obviously the music was good (c’mon, it’s MJ), but the one thing I liked most was the dancing. The choreography was amazing. I think it really would have been a great show. It’s sad that it couldn’t have happened.

can you feel the heat?

So two weeks ago, we had the Orlando Magic staying at our hotel. This week, take a guess at who’s checking-in to our hotel tonight. Those of you who follow basketball will know that the Toronto Raptors are playing against the Miami Heat this Friday. Yup, you guessed it! The Miami Heat. Hmmm…I wonder if I’ll catch a couple of them before their game.

officially hired!

So as I mentioned in my last post, I am working on a book cover for an author. Now that I have officially been hired as his consultant, I feel like I can talk a little bit more about it.

The man whose book I am working on is a semi-high profile businessman by the name of Gordon McGuinty, second cousin (I believe) of Ontario’s premier. Let me first clarify that Gord has VERY different views from our premier. His book is about the political BS that he has dealt with in the last 14 years, with the issue mainly surrounding a billion-dollar contract that never came through. Anyone remember “Adam’s Mine”?

Some of you might still remember what happened almost a decade ago, before Toronto’s garbage was shipped to Michigan. Long story short, Gordon owned the mine at the time and proposed to use it for landfill since Toronto’s waste needed a new home. That idea stirred up many controversies and protests. The book will tell Gord’s side of the story as it happened; how the politicians screwed over the deal and how Toronto’s garbage ended up being shipped across the border.

The experience working with McGuinty so far has been great. I had a 5-hour meeting with him last week when he flew into Toronto and was able to discuss a number of things re: his cover and a bit about marketing his book with him. I’m very excited about everything we’re doing and can’t wait until it all comes together.

On a different note, our friend The Identity Crisis is dropping his new album this Friday. Come join the fun and have “Breakfast with a Psychopath”…

Friday, November 13, 2009 at the legendary El Mocambo

See you there! ;)

happy halloween!

No trick or treating or partying for me this year. With the holiday season running in full mode now, my body is calling for every bit of rest it can get (even though I’d much rather be out shaking my booty). But not to worry, I have 3 boxes of Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars and another tub of Oreo ice cream in the fridge to keep me company :)

good times…

There’s so much to talk about, where should I start?! It was good times at Kat’s place last Saturday when we celebrated Anna’s birthday. Plenty of food, booze, and fun. Too bad a few peeps were sick and couldn’t make it. Kat was an awesome hostess who made sure everyone had their drinks. We also all got raped by Ray’s brownies; as Anna said, “it was like intercourse with every bite” lol

for you hockey fans…

The authors of “Leafs Abomination” stopped by our store yesterday to sign copies of their book. I happened to help them and was surprised that they were such nice guys. Though our conversation was short, it was pleasant chatting with them. Check our their book if you get a chance!

magic in the house…

The Orlando Magic are in town to play against the Raptors tomorrow afternoon, and guess where they are staying? In my hotel of course! It’s always interesting seeing basketball players at my store. Standing next to them makes me feel even more minimal than I already am because they are so darn tall. I think it was Dwight Howard who walked by today, nodded and said hello. I thought that was a really nice gesture. Although I don’t really follow basketball, I’d put my money on the Magic for tomorrow’s game. We’ll see what the results are.

artistry at work…

So you may have heard that I’ve recently started a small side project, a project that puts my artistic eye and 7 years of book-selling experience to work: I am helping a client design the cover of his book. Before you’re mistaken, let me clarify that I’m not exactly the one designing the cover. I am more so the consultant who critiques and suggests the changes or ideas for the cover. This project utilizes much of my merchandising, marketing, selling, artistic and design skills. Probably shouldn’t reveal too much of the details yet, but I can tell you it’s a political book that can stir up quite a bit of controversy. 14 years, a billion-dollar deal, political BS. It should be interesting.

I really value this opportunity to take part in the production side of things for once, after dealing with SO MANY books in these past 7 years. More importantly, I value the fact that the author agrees with what I have to say, respects and trusts my suggestions. For someone of his status to say, “Meeting with you is important, I want to finalize what we are doing with you” means a lot to me. I’m really looking forward to meeting with him this Wednesday to further discuss the details of this project.

Speaking of books, it wasn’t until just recently that I found out my picture is featured on the Chapters/Indigo website. I totally forgot that months ago, a photographer came to our store to take pictures of employees at work. Didn’t think they would actually end up using my pic :p

Alright, I’m saving the rest for the next post. This girl’s out!

mooncake season came and went

Christmas used to be my favourite time of the year, but most people will agree that once you’ve worked in retail through Christmas you’ll never enjoy it the same way again. This is particularly true for me as I begin to ease my way into my 8th Christmas at Chapters. Over the years, the Moon Festival has slowly inched its way to the #1 spot. My family doesn’t really celebrate any of the Chinese festivals (or any other festival/holiday, for that matter) but we do stock our home with plenty of mooncakes. And that’s what I love most about the Moon Festival…the mooncakes!

In the past weeks, we’ve watched the Moon Festival go by, as well as the Thanksgiving long weekend. Both of which was rather unproductive for me. Following turkey day, I’ve spent pretty much every day at work and out with friends AFTER work. Today was my first real day off since last Tuesday (finally a day of bed rest!). It just occurred to me that I’m mostly hanging out with my guy friends these days. The majority of my gals are in relationships and that’s probably why we rarely spend time together now. I try to be understanding though. I know if I had a boyfriend, I’d want to spend more time with him too. So if they’re happy, I’m happy for them.

So lots have been going on in my end. Brief re-cap:

[ Saturday, October 10, 2009 ]

The iDC had a gig in Mississauga that night at a bar called Marcello’s. Danny, Adrienne, and I managed to find our way there, even though Mapquest almost led us right into the lake (thank goodness for GPS!). Robin later joined us and we all hung out after Paul’s set. A bunch of us went out for pho after, and I must say that I was quite jealous to learn they had such a great place for pho in ‘Sauga. Not only was it really good pho that was jam-packed with meat, it was also reasonably priced.

[ Sunday, October 11, 2009 ]

Andrew had originally invited Omar and I over for turkey dinner with his fam. But instead, I decided to stay home for dinner with my family that night. I met up with the guys later for drinks at Cafe Mirage, where I enjoyed a specialty hot chocolate and a slice of fudge brownie cheesecake :) Then we popped by The Goose to shoot some pool. It had been over 2 years since I last played. And to think that I used to spend almost everyday playing pool during my last semester of high school. heh Gone are those days!

[ Tuesday, October 13, 2009 ]

After work, Aaron and John Y. accompanied me on my mission in finding boots. Not only did I find myself a simple pair (that’s also waterproof), I ended up coming home with a new blue peacoat as well! It was only the start of a very tiring week, but it was also a very successful shopping trip :)

[ Thursday, October 15, 2009 ]

Met up with Danny after work and we drove up to Casino Rama for the Kelly Clarkson concert. Maaaaan, can that girl sing! Listening to her sing live was exactly like listening to her on cd. Loved it! I was satisfied after she sang my favourites - “Because of You”, “Walk Away”, and “Already Gone”. Since we missed dinner, Danny and I drove back to the city for some pho after the show and spent the rest of the night talking about music. I didn’t get home until 2:30am.

[ Friday, October 16, 2009 ]

Had to wake up at 7am in order to be ready by 8am for Andrew to come pick me up. With barely 4 hours of sleep, we drove to Niagara Falls for the day. It had just finished raining when we got there, so we went for a nice refreshing walk along the side of the Falls. Then we took the Incline Railway up to the Fallsview Hotel, where we wandered through the casino before heading off to Denny’s. I had the Grand Slamwich for the first time and found it to be a good alternative to the Heartland Scramble.

After lunch, we walked down Clifton Hill. We visited the Louis Tussauds Wax Museum, where we had fun taking pictures with a variety of interesting people. I’ll admit it was a bit scary standing next to the wax sculpture of MJ. His presence just felt really eerie. We also went to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum before grabbing Starbucks and hitting the road to go back home.

[ Saturday, October 17, 2009 ]

It had been a while since I last saw Richard, so he met up with me after I finished work on Saturday for dinner. It was my first time dining at Baton Rouge. I’m glad Richard suggested it because I absolutely loved the steak there. It is possibly my new favourite place for steak. After dinner, we wandered around Eaton Centre and just randomly took pictures. Thanks for the wonderful dinner, Richard! (…and for moving back your conference call for me) Next time…YOU’RE NOT PAYING!!

By the way, Zombieland was AWESOME! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet seen it. It’s funny and entertaining.

Rule #32: Enjoy the little things :)

i pick kleenex over puffs

Sorry for not having been very active online these days. Between my many days of work and being sick, I’ve been spending every bit of free time resting. I made a real effort to discipline myself in taking medication so that helped a lot. Ended up only being really sick for 3 days with the sniffles. There was no coughing, just a constant runny nose. So don’t worry, I don’t have the swine flu :p

While I was sick, I made an amazing discovery. Neocitran is a surprisingly good remedy! Have some of that and keep a box of Kleenex® Lotion Tissue at your side. You’ll be well prepared to fight that runny nose. I pick Kleenex over Puffs because I think Kleenex is slightly softer than Puffs. Believe me, using soft tissues make a HUGE difference on your nose!

Kevin and Winnie came back from New York for a few days this week and I managed to catch them during their short stay. The fam went out for dinner on Monday night at an authentic Japanese restaurant in the Yonge & Eglinton area called Fin Izakaya. Jacky’s Japanese girlfriend, Mika, recommended the place and it did not disappoint. Besides the ’sperm’ looking/tasting dish (more commonly known as Nattō), everything else was good. The pork belly, the chicken skewers, the horse mackerel, the clams, and of course the Unagi. I would highly recommend the restaurant, but definitely wouldn’t recommend trying the Nattō.

After dinner, Mika suggested we try this little dessert house up by Yonge & Finch. It was called Yogoberri and they served yogurt, cakes and waffles. A rather homely place owned by Koreans. We had a good time just catching up. It’s been a while since we last had the whole family together.

So while I’ve been patiently waiting for my two favourite tv shows to return with new seasons (that would be Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives), I caught up with some TVB dramas. First on my list was Emergency Unit (學警狙擊), mainly because I was curious what caused the whole hype about the character, Laughing 哥. I remember being in Hong Kong at the time and EVERYONE was talking about him. Now I know why.

The story line was quite captivating (an undercover cop trying to turn over a drug business). It reminded me of the Young and Dangerous days. I particularly enjoyed watching the Laughing 哥 character. I think the character was exceptionally well portrayed by Michael Tse, considering I actually felt heartbroken when his character died. Throughout most of the show, you’re led to believe he’s a gang leader. You only find out his real identity as an undercover cop shortly before his death so it really has an impact on you. The interesting thing is they never really confirmed his death, so it’s quite possible that Laughing 哥 didn’t die and the character will return in the next installment of the show. At least that’s what I believe :p

On the topic of entertainment, can someone tell me why there are so many movies this year with the number 9 in their titles? Following District 9 (which I thought was a great movie even though I rarely ever watch sci-fi) was 9. I went to see it last week and was quite disappointed with it. Besides the visuals, I didn’t think there was a lot of depth to the story. But to be fair, I did fall asleep for a good 15 minutes through the movie (just like I did while watching District 9) so I probably shouldn’t be too harsh with my comment. I can’t seem to stay awake at the theaters if I go after work because I’m always so tired. Gotta fix that!

Tomorrow after work, I’m going to see Zombieland. Will let you all know how that one is…that is, if I don’t fall asleep again. lol

she smiles in the rain

It’s funny how little things in life can cause subtle changes to one’s attitude about certain things.

I recently bought a walking umbrella because I have never owned one before; I usually carry folding umbrellas because they’re easier to take around. This new Fulton umbrella is nothing fancy. Though they are known to be good quality and durable, I got this particular one because it’s black with very thin fuchsia stripes. If you haven’t yet noticed, those are my colours. I also love how smoothly it opens with the push of a button and is big enough for my tiny frame to hide under it.

So ever since I bought the umbrella, I’ve been eagerly awaiting rainy days just so I can put my umbrella to use. I never used to feel this way about the rain, probably because my flimsy folding umbrella never really did the job. But now with my new umbrella, I feel like I’m well prepared and I even look forward to those rainy days.

Perhaps the only thing that I’m looking forward to more than the rain is a day off. I don’t seem to have enough of those these days. I was off Friday and ended up spending the entire day shopping in Buffalo. Danny and I bought basic things like DVDs, drinks, and shower gels. (And fresh fruits, can’t forget about them fruits LOL) Not much to buy over there right now. Nonetheless, it was a nice getaway for the day. I was probably more excited about coming home though lol

I’m happy to have caught up with Edison on Saturday night. It had been almost 5 months since I last saw him. We went to Asian Legend for dinner and, like always, we ordered too much food :P Nonetheless, it was nice having dinner with the bro.

I’ve spent the last three days working at the store downtown. The only exciting thing that happened today was the filming that was going on in the hotel. I learned that they were filming for the CBC tv series, The Border. It was interesting watching them film :)

Think I’m going to call it a night and go rest in bed with some music. I’ve been hit by the flu or something; my nose has been running uncontrollably for the past 24 hours and it’s making it very difficult to breathe. (Boy, do I wish I had a box of Puffs here right now!) I’ll leave you with a few light tunes that I’m currently listening to. I’m really feeling them these days. (If you have an IMEEM account, log in so you can hear the full length of the songs.)

Goodnight!

so much cake

I haven’t written in a few weeks because there’s been a lot going on and I just needed some time to myself, both to rest and to think. My writing never seems to flow well when my thoughts are scattered everywhere in my head. Things are getting a bit better now and I’m finally starting to focus again.

So about two weeks ago, I celebrated my 25th birthday - yes, I am officially a quarter of a century old. My co-workers threw me a “surprise” birthday party/dinner, the kind where I knew the party would be on the Friday night but just didn’t know what we’d be doing or where we’d be going. For a good 3 weeks, they joked about going to a strip club. I must admit we had some really good laughs over that idea and I was almost disappointed we didn’t actually end up going… (NOT! lol)

The surprise turned out to be dinner at a particular Milestones that we all love because there’s a hot manager who works there. I had a feeling we’d be going there but figured I shouldn’t ruin the “surprise”. The manager was there that night and I must’ve totally blushed when he brought over my cake. I was so busy staring at his pretty face while everyone sang Happy Birthday that I didn’t realize there were TWO cakes! Raquel and Mary each bought me one, which was really sweet of them.

I also must thank Anasha for planning everything. It was probably the first time where I wasn’t the one to do all the planning. That actually felt kind of weird lol But I must say it was nice to be taken care of for once.

Anyway, I had an AWESOME time that night. It was great being able to share my bday dinner with some of my closest friends from work. I work with some of the most amazing people. One of my old managers, Carrie, showed up unexpectedly so it was nice seeing her. She brought me a dozen cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe!

I LOVE CUPCAKES!!! :)

Being the workaholic that I am, I ended up working on the actual day of my birthday because it was the day of our monthly changeover. Anasha was a real darling and bought me a cake & flowers. I thought it was funny that I never usually get cake for my birthday (because I’m the only one in my family who really eats cake), yet this year I got THREE cakes and a dozen cupcakes! lol I was quite caked out LOL

I worked until midnight and was downtown at the courthouse by 8:30am Monday morning for jury duty. Ugh! How I dreaded jury duty. Long story short, I managed to get out of it with a letter from my employer. I am SO GLAD I didn’t have to spend a week there. Would’ve been a total waste of time.

Because of the Jewish holiday, I’ve been working a lot and have been quite exhausted. There has also been a lot on my mind lately, some being decisions that need to be made and I’m reluctant to do so. The thoughts really drain me but I think when I’m ready to make the decisions, THAT’S when I’ll make them.

crazy for cupcakes

It has been an extremely stressful week. All the time spent sleeping over the long weekend has only put me behind on a number of things and since then it seems like everything has needed my tending to. I have this really bad habit where I bring up sad thoughts when I’m already stressed out. As a result, my thinking completely spiraled out of control (blame the hormones).

I really appreciate all those who’ve shown concern and have shared a caring word or two. It means a lot to me. And to the wonderful girls at 940, I am so thankful to be working with them. It’s great that these girls never pry and are always there to make sure I’m okay (especially if it’s a boy issue), even when they know nothing about the situation. You girls rock!

So stress usually calls for some comfort food. Since I don’t have any chocolate, ice cream or cake at home, I’ve been thinking endlessly about it. This is so sad lol I’ve been wanting to try the cupcakes from Cold Stone Creamery, especially the Double Chocolate Devotion which consists of a Belgian chocolate cup filled with a layer of moist Devils Food Cake, Fudge, and Chocolate Ice Cream. Did I mention it’s topped with fluffy white icing and an OREO cookie?! Mmmmm…it sounds sooooooo good! (For those who don’t know, I’m CRAZY about cupcakes!!)

Anyway, I’ve been watching a bunch of movies lately and have been meaning to do a review, but I’m totally exhausted right now. How about tomorrow?

it’s the long weekend and i’m home in bed…

Have you ever been so exhausted that you feel as though you’re on the verge of dying because your body is so tired that it completely shuts down and your mind just can’t focus on anything? It’s a real awful feeling. And that’s how I’ve been feeling the past 4 days. Needless to say, I’m spending this long weekend recovering from exhaustion.

What was supposed to be a night out on Thursday turned into a night spent in bed. I was quite disappointed about not making it to the Drake for Paul’s gig, but it probably wouldn’t have been such a great idea if I had dragged myself there anyway. I do miss hanging out with Adrienne and Danny though. I saw them pretty much once every week through July and August, so it’s a bit strange these days when I don’t see them for more than 2 weeks. All three of us are the only child in our families. Theory is that when you’re an only child, your friends become your family. That particularly seems to be the case with Adri and Danny; they’re like a brother and sister to me.

Anyway, I do have one piece of good news to share. I finally got my mark for the Event Planning course I took and it’s an A+ baby!! Besides that one course I decided not to finish and accept an F for, I’ve managed to get an A in all my Travel courses. At least that’s ONE thing that calls for celebration :)

day 5 of 7

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!

revealing…my summer love ‘09

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”. Feed your ears with the tracks I’ve added below.

Alright…come on, let’s dance!

(All photos courtesy of FarEastMovement.com)

let’s go to the ex!

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…

great…just great! -.-”

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! :)

nothing beats live music

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 Some™, 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!

boy…did I work those leg muscles

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!

8oz is just right…

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.

check it out

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)

road trip 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.

the last of my july dates

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? :)

summer heat 2k9

I’m about a week behind with this re-cap due to technical issues. My site and blog was down for practically two days, which left me suspended here. Hopefully that’s it for the server problems this week.

So exactly a week ago, Danny and I hit up Summer Heat 2k9. We planned to be at Ricoh Coliseum by late afternoon that day, but due to a power outage in Danny’s ‘hood we didn’t end up downtown until almost 6pm. Luckily for us, there wasn’t a line up when we got there, so we took a quick turn to Union Station to pick up pizza at Pizza 2 Go before heading back to Ricoh. (If you haven’t yet tried their pizza, I strongly suggest you try it.)

We grabbed a few bites of the pizza in the car before we headed to the entrance, only to find that a huge line up had already formed. After waiting in line for a few minutes, a security guy came and asked if any of us in line had floor tickets. When we told him we did, he said we were in the wrong line! There turned out to be a separate line, and (surprise!) there was no line up for those with floor tickets :)

The venue was pretty empty when we first got inside. Local artists performed while people slowly filled the arena. Kevin Rudolf and his band was the first to hit the stage, followed by Jazmine Sullivan. She started her set with one of my favourites - “Bust Your Windows”.

Flo Rida worked the stage and had everyone singing to “Sugar”. Then he had 7 girls up on stage dancing with him to “Low” and was literally in the crowd throwing away signed towels for “Right Round”. What an entertainer!

Ahhh, finally…our beloved Keri Hilson, who totally ROCKED it! I admit I wasn’t really expecting THAT great a performance from her. Boy did she WOW me! I mean, sure…I love her music and will go to great lengths to see her in person, but I honestly wasn’t expecting her set to be so well performed. Her choreographed routines were amazing, especially for “Slow Dance”. I think Danny almost collapsed watching it because it was just that HOT! lol (Check out the video here) I also think he was extremely jealous of the male dancer who got to rub his bod up to Keri’s haha

Last but not least, there was T-Pain. We didn’t end up staying through T-Pain’s set because we wanted to leave early in order to get ourselves changed and ready for more Keri at Maro. So after his second song, we left. We stopped at Danny’s work to use their washrooms as our change rooms. Unfortunately, when we were ready to leave his office building, it had started pouring outside. It was a good thing I had an umbrella in my bag; we were only semi-soaked by the time we made it back to his car.

So we arrived at Maro shortly after 11pm. When I walked in and saw that the place was barely empty, a bad feeling crept up on me. I thought it was rather strange for it to be THAT quiet in a club where Keri Hilson’s after party was expected to be held. But whatever, we hung around. It wasn’t until almost 1am when we realized A LOT of people had left. At that point we knew this after party was a total flop. Thanks to Twitter, we got Keri’s tweet and found out they had moved the after party to Century (probably because no one showed up at Maro).

We didn’t end up at Century in the end and just called it a night. It had been a long day, but at least we got to see our Keri :)

time for a quickie

So even though I feel extremely tired right now, I thought I should at least do a quick update before I head to bed. Somehow, I have managed to pull through another busy week. And (YAY!) I’m still in one piece =)

I’ve mainly been busy with school this week because I had two assignments due tonight; one research assignment and one group project. Initially, our group was assigned to create an event for a new club opening. I was REALLY excited about it too, but unfortunately we got a new teacher and she changed our assignment topic. We ended up having to put together a one-day event for a product launch in Yukon, so our group chose the GMC “Yukon” as our product. I was responsible for the entertainment of the evening gala, as well as the production schedule. (Much thanks to Danny for helping me put that together!)

Things have been a bit of a mess this semester considering we got a new teacher literally just three weeks ago. Tonight was already our last class before the final exam. No one knew exactly what happened to our original teacher, but it didn’t really matter either since she never really taught us anything. In the 3 classes we’ve had with this new teacher, she’s already brought in two guest speakers who were very knowledgeable and informative. She also scheduled a site inspection at the Hilton Suites this week for us (out of class hours!). She’s totally awesome!

I’ll do my re-cap of the concert later this week. Before I doze off though, I just wanted to write about the wonderful experience I had today. I was at the corner of my street waiting for the lights to turn so that I could cross to the bus stop on the other side. I watched as the bus made its way down the street toward me, and I thought to myself…”This light is never going to turn in time for me to cross the street to catch that bus.” Sure enough, I watched from the other side of the street as the bus continued right pass my bus stop. But strangely enough, just as the bus drove past the traffic lights, it slowed down and stopped! When the lights finally turned green, I ran across the street. I didn’t stop running until I reached the doors of the bus, which the driver had already opened for me. He actually stopped the bus in the middle of the street to wait for me!! I thought that was REALLY nice of the bus driver, especially when I was just standing quietly on the other side of the road. It wasn’t like I was waving my arms franticly to stop him. So yeah, I thanked him when I got on the bus and again when I got off. It goes to show there ARE nice bus drivers in this world. You just don’t always come across them, that’s all! ;)

the Keri madness has begun!

Really…if it wasn’t for Keri Hilson, I’d be home for three days straight trucking away on my two assignments that are due next Monday. But of course, since our beloved MissKeriBaby is in town, she’s priority lol

In case you haven’t already noticed, I’ve grown to become quite a Keri fan this summer. I started listening to her music after I came back from my trip and really enjoyed it. I love that she is so talented as both a singer and songwriter, yet she is so humble. She’s also very classy, and I find her and her music to be quite an inspiration. That’s why when Danny told me she was coming to town, I knew I wasn’t going to miss out on seeing her live.

Danny and I got tickets for today’s MOD (Much on Demand) just to see Keri. *Watch the episode here. It was important for us to be there because it’s her first appearance in Toronto and on MuchMusic Canada, so that was extra special. It was our first time on MOD so we didn’t really know what to expect. Now we know what it feels like to sit in a room full of teenage kids…you feel OLD! lol Nonetheless, it was a good experience and I had a great time. We were fortunate enough to have one of the best seats in the house - front row baby! And Keri looked lovely in person :)

I thought it was pretty funny when Vanesa texted me at 5:15pm to say, “Danny’s on tv right now! In the audience on MuchMusic! lol” So I texted her back…”Yeah, I know. I’m sitting right next to him LOL”

Anyway, tomorrow is Day 2 of the Keri madness. We’ve got tickets for Summer Heat 2k9, AND we’re headed for the Official Concert Afterparty @ Maro (Keri will be performing there as well). I’m sure it’s going to be a long day, but it’ll be well worth it for our girl ;)

before i jump-start a busy week…

Alright, I gotta make this quick tonight. I’ve got a lot to get around to in the next 168 hours, and I’m determined to pull it off with nothing but grace =)

I guess I’ll start off re-capping the weekend. Friday was a pretty mellow day. I met up with Adrienne late in the afternoon for some window shopping in the PATH since it was pretty gloomy out. When we got to the Royal York, we changed into our dresses and just hung around taking pictures. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out with many good pictures because the lighting was pretty bad in there.

We had reservations at Canyon Creek for Summerlicious with Danny, so Adrienne and I met up with him there. It was my first time at CC, and now I understand why everyone loves it there. The prime rib that we had was really yummy!! I can’t wait to go back for more. After dinner, we walked over to Milestones for drinks. We just ended up spending the rest of the night chilling there until after they closed. I’d post some of the silly pictures we took, but Danny still owes me the pictures from his camera :p

I was pretty exhausted when I went to work on Saturday. As you’ve probably read from my previous post, I had to deal with the issue of the quick change scam. The incident happened 40 minutes before I closed, so by the time I contacted the police it was already pass the time I was supposed to get off work. I spoke to a detective over the phone and, after hearing my story, he determined it was necessary that an officer come in to speak with me in order to have it on record.

So basically I sat around at work waiting until 9:30pm. At that point, I called again to see if they could give me another estimate on how much longer I’d have to wait. Luckily, the girl on the phone was nice enough to tell me she really didn’t think they were going to get to me that night because there were still 7 calls pending ahead of me, with the one in priority already having waited 10 hours. And of course, any emergency calls that came in would take priority. I decided to call it a night and she suggested I call again next week.

Just as I was about to leave the store at 10pm, a regular customer of ours came knocking on the door and insisted on coming in to have a look around. I thought, “What the hell, I’ve already hung around for so long. What’s another few minutes at this point?” Go figure…I ended up making a $800 sale!! Then when I tried to leave again, another customer came in! I ended up leaving the store at 11:45pm and didn’t get around to eating until almost 1:30am. It had been 14 hours since I last ate. All I had to drink that day was a large cup of tea and half a bottle of water. Believe me, even for a workaholic like me I’d have to say that was one of the longest days I’ve had at work.

It started out like any other day at work…until they came in.

Today, I succumbed to my first case of the professional scam artist. I have heard about them many times before, how they come in twos or threes to distract you so they can steal. I just never thought I would ever let it happen on my clock.

They were quick. The woman kept distracting me and kept asking questions as I was trying to ring up the man’s purchase. Next thing I knew they were walking out with $80 change when they never actually paid me. This was where the cursing began.

From the moment they walked in, I had a hunch that something wasn’t right. At one point I even tried to stop the woman from talking while the man rambled on. I tried to stay focused, but as if they had me hypnotized I fell into their curse and became utterly confused. It wasn’t until they had rushed out of my store that I realized they had scammed me.

I never thought it would happen to me. I thought I would be able to handle them much better than that. I guess not.

This incident taught me a lesson. For everything that you think can’t or won’t happen to you, know that it can or it may. Because in life, anything can happen to anyone. However good or bad it may be.

an awesome second week

Wow, am I ever exhausted!

It’s been incredibly difficult for me to maintain consistency with my blogging lately. At least not quite as consistently as I had hoped. I’m beginning to feel a bit worn out from all these summer activities, but I guess a few nights of quality sleep should do the trick. Besides the need to catch up on some much needed rest, I’m really enjoying the summer so far and making every effort to make the most of it this year. It’s all or nothing, so I’m just going to have fun and enjoy it while I can.

I had another awesome day out on Friday with Adrienne. We spent the beginning of our afternoon at the St. Lawrence Market, one of my favourite places to go wandering at. There was a small store there that served Italian dishes, so of course Adri and I couldn’t pass on the chance to give them a try. If it wasn’t for the fact that we had dinner reservations, I would’ve wanted to try the infamous peameal bacon sandwich at the market. I guess I’ll have to save that for next time ;)

Then Adrienne and I walked down to the Distillery District. Go figure - I was born and raised in this city yet it was my first ever visit to the Distillery! There wasn’t much going on but we did enjoy a nice bowl of fresh watermelon on a patio while we were there. After the Distillery, we took a nice walk along The Esplanade and just had fun taking pictures. By 6pm, we had arrived at the Westin Harbour Castle, changed our outfits, and were ready for dinner.

We had been looking forward to Summerlicious at Toula for weeks. It was a good thing we had reservations because they turned out to be quite busy, and for good reason too. The service was great, the atmosphere was wonderful, and the food was superb.  We also had an awesome view of the city to go along with our dinner.

Danny had invited us to his friend’s gig in ’sauga, so he came to pick us up after dinner. We met Danny’s friend, Paul, in the parking lot. Paul goes by the alias, The iDC (short for The Identity Crisis). He’s a cool guy who’s very talented; his stuff is quite different. Check out his music online!

After Paul’s set, we just hung around and chatted. When we all started to feel hungry, we decided to hit up Denny’s for an early/late-night breakfast (whatever breakfast is called at 2:30 in the morning! lol). That’s the wonderful thing about Mississauga - they have a Denny’s in town! Why doesn’t Toronto have one yet?  Booooo…  I was rather satisfied with my Heartland Scrambled breakfast. Adrienne, on the other hand, was adventurous enough to give the “Creamy Grits” a try alongside her order of oatmeal. It was funny when her meal came - on this huge plate were two small bowls (one with the grits and the other with oatmeal).  If you didn’t look carefully enough, you would’ve totally missed the two small strips of bacon and sausages :p

Overall, I had a good time and I’m looking forward to more of it in the next 3 weeks!

“Sound of Music” Promotion

For anyone who is interested in seeing the Toronto production of the Sound of Music musical, Travelzoo.ca is currently offering a special promotion on all shows through September 6th. Quote the promotion code: TRAVEL50 and the tickets are yours for $50!

Click the banner below for more details about the Travelzoo.ca promotion. Hurry and get yours quick. Offer ends July 17th.

dates with girl friends are the best

1) Because you already know you enjoy each other’s company.
2) Because you can get all dressed up just for the hell of it and not worry about having to impress your date.
3) Because you don’t get those awkward moments of silence and you don’t get frustrated after the date wondering when and if they’re going to call :p

* * *haha Seriously now, I did spend an awesome two days out and about with one of my favourite girls last week.  Adrienne and I had tickets to see Jersey Boys on Thursday, which turned out to be an awesome show.  Even though I had gotten the tickets on promotion, our first row dress circle seats were great and we didn’t have to look between heads lol  I didn’t exactly grow up listening to The Four Seasons, but I’ve always loved songs like “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man”. They’re pretty much classics. And by the time we left, I couldn’t get “Sherrrry” out of my head ;)

It had been a while since I last saw a live performance. Okay, that was a lie. My last live show was one that I saw in China, which could’ve easily been the most impressive show I’ve seen to date. It was called “The Romance of the Song Dynasty” (宋城千古情). I’ll tell you guys all about it in a later post.

Anyway, so after Jersey Boys on Thursday, Adrienne and I stopped at Ten Ren’s for a drink. We tried their Strawberry Banana Green Tea Waffle which didn’t taste like green tea at all. It was still yummy though =) Since it was pretty early, we went for a walk around Mel Lastman Square and did some exploring before dinner. Then I took Adrienne to Mezza Notte, one of my favourite Italian restaurants in the city.

Friday was just about as eventful. We started the day with some patio time over lunch at Jack Astor’s. After soaking in some sunshine we walked over to Nathan Philips Square to check out the Jazz Festival. We each got a peanut covered chocolate dipped ice cream there, and who would’ve known we’d make such a mess! The ice cream kept melting before we got to finish it and pretty much half of mine ended up on the ground. I had never laughed so hard over eating ice cream :p

Adrienne and I walked up University to Yorkville, where we had reservations at Vaticano for dinner. It was our first of 3 Summerlicious dates =) The food was exceptionally well prepared, though the service wasn’t quite as good as I expected. I loved their Tiramisu!!!

So after dinner, we decided to wander around the entertainment district. We settled down at Milestones for drinks and ended up having a really good time there. We had an awesome bartender who made sure we were well taken care of and that we were never left thirsty. It was a great wrap up to a fantastic two days.

sweet goodbye

Yesterday was my cousin’s funeral. Ever since we got the news earlier in the week, I’ve been pretty calm and have tried to look at it positively. It wasn’t until I had arrived at the visitation centre for the viewing that the emotions came flooding in.

Above the casket hung a video screen. I sat there quietly by myself for an hour, watching the slideshow of my cousin’s photographs. There were photos of him as a baby and many others of him with my cousins. When I saw a picture of him at my parent’s wedding I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, I wasn’t even born at the time!” Then I saw one particular photo. My cousin was sitting at the piano with a little 3 year old girl dressed in a bright pink outfit. She had short hair and big curious eyes.

That little girl was me.

When I saw that picture, a pool of tears formed in my eyes. In my head all I heard was my cousin’s voice, even though I couldn’t make out the words he said. That picture of me and him sitting on the piano bench reminded me of what he was like. And although I never really got to know him very well, I know my faint memories of him will always remain with me.

I guess goodbyes are never easy to say and the idea of having to part with people you love and care about can be hard to digest. But inevitably, it is a part of life that we all must experience at one point or another.

After the service, my parents and I along with other relatives visited the grave of my grandparents. We decorated it with some flowers and cleaned off the headstone. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. I felt like it was the perfect close to another chapter of my life.

may he rest in peace

My cousin John passed away on Monday. Although we had been expecting the news for some time, it still didn’t fail to come as a shock to us. I was never very close with him, probably because he was much older than I. In my memory, I remember him as a funny and caring fellow. He was a photographer. I vaguely remember posing as his model when I was 3 years old. That was my first memory of him.

August 2007 was the last time I saw him. He was recovering from cancer at the time. I remember he took me up to his room to show me his portfolio and equipment. He was an amazing photographer. After spending some time talking with me about photography techniques, he said maybe next time I’m over he’ll show me the rest of his photographs. But I guess that day never came.

From what I heard, my cousin John left very peacefully with family at his side. There was no pain, no suffering. And perhaps that is the best thing that could have happened.