Summer 2011

My sincerest of apologies for the current lack of the written word on my blog. I've been busy taking advantage of my summer holiday which, sadly, is over in about two weeks. Yes. Two weeks.

Where did it go? What did I do with my time? I will now attempt, to the best of my abilities, to recall how I spent my summer. For no other reason, really, than for my personal satisfaction, and to remember.

May-June 2011

- Summer School: Contemporary Poety (did marginally well...)
- spent time with an old friend, recently-turned-mother
- watched some Hot Doc productions
- found places to hang out at night with great views of the city
- went out to Century Room with some friends
- attended the launch of In Toronto Magazine at Roosevelt Room
- attended the UTICA gala
- attended Pero Expo at VoX International party
- attended cousins' First Communion...spoken entirely in Hungarian...
- went to good friend's house party for her boyfriend's birthday
- landed new job working at psychological centre...for a month.
- BierMarkt for friend's going away party... although she never did end up leaving...
- spent the day at Cherry Beach with the girlfriends
- continued my piano lessons!
- smoked the green and ordered a pizza to the top of a parking lot then headed over to the dirty Brunny (sweet random night)
- LEVENDES FC SAGAPO POLI!
- bike trip from home down to Lakeshore Blvd!
- Kensington Market with the bestie
- lunch at Vivoli's with the ladies!
- Brunny night...and green, oh the green.
- Gullo's birthday at This is London
- read under a tree all day at Trinity Bellwood's Park
- Prostate Cancer Walk for Papa Silva!
- Bike ride to Centre Island with the Bestie
- more casual baby visiting
- Visited the Nonna in Windsor for a week...joy.
- my special broke his wrist and I truly couldn't believe it

July-August 2011

- Dave and Buster's night...now that was some really awesome fun
- Oro Beach for Angela's birthday
- Drove the sister to the airport so as to begin her trip to Halifax...and never finish it
- "A Midnight in Paris"
- attempt number one in making Fettucini Alfredo...#hugefail
- K.O. after Century Room with the girls. The night ended way too late, or is 5:30 am considered early?
- Vivid's Pizzeria with my special (arguably best pizzeria in Toronto)
- Salsa on St.Clair with baby mama & Co.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt.2 !!!!!!!
- house party at Cheech's
- Breaking Bad. Seriously got into Breaking Bad. So much Breaking Bad.
- last night before the Greek boys headed off to Greece
- Skybar/The Guvernment
- Katrina's annual Taste of the Danforth Party (I got him back...best time spent all summer)
- My special gets a cleat in the knee and loses a chunk of it. Six stiches later and no summer championship he lost but was undefeated
- St. Lawrence Market with my special!
- Swimming with my special :)
- The CNE with friends and my special
- The Paramount
- The Brunny
- SMC Frosh Leader Retreat 2011
- Ana gets her wisdom teeth removed...again
- 'Pasta and Pizza' and Chinatown with my special!!

And there is it. The most sequentially accurate recollection of my summer's events. I mean, hey, I might've not had the most extravagent summer, but I spent it with him. And I couldn't have asked for anything more.

What are you doing this very minute?

Just watching 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'...and loving it.

Uno Mas

It appears my blog has now become a daily recollection and recording of my adventures. iExplore. iSee. iExperience. iWrite. uRead. sWeet.

I've been expanding my cultural cuisine horizon as of late, and me and my special opted for Arabic food. Naturally, there had to be a sideorder of pita bread.

With a sideorder for the sideorder of hummus.

And for the main course? Shawarma on a plate.

You really should check out this restaurant. It is located at Dundas and Yonge, just south of Dundas Sqaure. It's called, Paramount. Check it out.

Fashion in the 60s

You really need to check out this link. These pictures reek of authenticty.

Highschool Fashion in 1969



Here's a little taste of what you'll find:

Thought this was entirely suitable:

Ferris Wheels, Poutine, Cotton Candy

Get Up and Eat!

Not sure what to do with your Thursday afternoon? Well, here are some ideas:

Travel down to Little Italy on College Street. Walk around, take it all in. The desserts looks sumptuous, the smells are divine. The boutiques are full of wonderful artistic pieces. Really, you gotta check it out.

Once you've arrived on College, step into Vivoli's, a small Italian restaurant with great sidewalk and rooftop patios (and exquisite Sangria). Order a Margherita. Why? Just trust me on this one.

You're going to want to order that Sangria now, c'mon, it's hot out; you know you want something refreshing. This is the picture in the dictionary beside the definition of refreshing. You'll even find some fresh blueberries, raspberries and diced strawberries floating around in there.

Then you're going to want to take some pictures of your special person. Or not. That's optional. But I did.

Once you're finished your delightful shenanigans, pay off that bill and head on out to find the best gelato and desserts at the Sicilian Cafe! Your tastebuds will have never had it better. Wow.

And to top off the afternoon, go look for those benches (that aren't benches because they're not made of wood) but they're benches because they look like benches and you can lie down on them like you can on a bench...

Mangiare bene!!

What is Twitter?

Where did Facebook go? How often do you use Facebook to contact people these days? Is it starting to follow in Myspace's footsteps? Statistically and financially no, however in my group of friends it would appear that Twitter trumps Facebook any day.

It's simple. Clever. If you can't say what you want to say in 140 characters, don't say anything at all. Only say what's absolutely necessary. Unlike Facebook, where anything goes. Twitter is more contained in that sense, however it does not stop those that use the social network to voice their opinion loud and clear...and in 140 characters.

I Believe a "Thank You" is in Order

When's the last time you stopped, took a look around and thanked God for everything you see, everything you touch, everything you have. In our crazy, hectic lives it's not often we step outside the bubble we call our life and say 'thanks'. But we should, we really should.


What are you thankful for?

I know what I am thankful for... Thank You.

Death to Gummy Ears

Famiglia di Weston

What do you know about the Westons? My own knowledge of the family is very limited, which might seem embarrassing seeing as I work for them. Don't get excited. I'm not their maid or their gardener. I work at Loblaws, and today I served Mr. Weston's butler and personal chef. He purchased $545 worth of Loblaws foodstuffs.

"No big deal."

So I decided to chat with Mr. Weston's butler about how he came about this job and what working for the family is like. He comes from the West part of France and has worked for several families all over the world. He had just come from the Caribbean where he waited on a very wealthy family. When I asked him how he felt about leaving his family behind constantly he was impartial. He enjoyed the time to himself.

He said the entire Weston family does not live under the same roof as they have homes all over the world. (Had to hold my breath here. Holy magnanimous wealth!!) They are apparently very friendly and he has greatly enjoyed working for them for the past month. He plans to continue working for the Weston's for just about over a year.

So I did some research. Here are some basic facts:

- Galen Weston is worth around $7.1 billion (GASPING FOR AIR)
- He was ranked by Forbes as the second wealthiest man in Canada...
- ...and 133rd in the world (CAN. NOT. BREATHE.)
- The Weston family maintains control over:
- Loblaws Companies Ltd.
- Holt Renfrew (Mme. Hilary Weston is the deputy chair)
- Selfridges in the U.K.
- Brown Thomas in Ireland
- and the De Bijenkorf department store chain in the Netherlands

I mean, wow. Incredible, really. This family is rolling around in green and have their hands in so many successful industrial and commercial pockets all over the world. They're also very involved in charitable business and founded the Garfield Weston Foundation which has raised almost $200 million dollars in the past ten years.

And I was the lucky cashier that served his butler and personal chef.

What to do on a Tuesday in Toronto...

It might not be an ideal way to spend your Tuesday, but this is how I spent mine:

So around 10am I arose from my bed and proceeded to prepare for the day--took a shower, ate, brushed my teeth, covered my naked self...

...awkward.

After that, I met up with a very, very special person at Dundas Square. Like most days, Dundas Square was bursting with live entertainment, loads of people swarming the square, hotdog vendors waiting for their next victim, etc.

We then made our way into the Eaton Centre where we decided to take a look around the infamous H&M. Unfortunately we came out unsuccessful, but not discouraged!

Afterwards we mosied on down towards Queen St. where our real adventure started. Queen St. is filled with so much to see. If you are a sushi fan, Queen St. West is the street for you, as a sushi restaurant can be found every ten stores down or so. Indian food tickle your tastebuds? They got those too. We however stopped at "The Footie Restaurant" just south of Queen and ordered ourselves some poutine and a piri piri chicken sandwich. I ordered myself a Corona, and boy, did it hit the spot.

After we finished eating we decided to check out the Farmer's Market at Trinity Bellwood's Park. The park was full of people soaking up the sun, playing tennis, riding their bikes, tossing around a frisbee, enjoying a picnic in the shade, chasing dogs...it was quite the popular attraction apparently.

We decided to take it easy and parked ourselves under a maple tree. It was relaxing and wonderful.


That was my Tuesday afternoon in Toronto. If you enjoy discovering new hidden boutiques or tasting new foods or trying on clothing you wouldn't find in a commercial shopping mall, I think a similar sort of day would suit you just fine.




-e

Through the Record Studio

So what does everyone think about Lady Gaga's new "You and I" music video and finally edited song?




Before the edited version came out, there was this:



Personally, I find her first unedited version fabulous. This track consits of her vocals and the tinkling of piano keys. Pure, raw music.

Visually Appealing

I learned a few things today. Interested?

1) Stimulating conversation is only achievable if both parties are both as adament in answer-finding and both as curious as each other.

2) Eating too much sushi makes you both sick and sleepy.

3) At an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant they make you pay for the food you do not finish....#what

4) Some people power-trip at every moment of the day. All we wanted was to visit my old dance studio. What were we told when we asked if we could take a look around? "Scheduled tours, only." #bullshit

5) Cloudy days make for astounding sunsets

GET READY, TORONTO!

TWO DAY FESTIVAL. BIG. BAD. INSANE. IT IS COMING.

LABOUR OF LOVE @ THE GUVERNMENT

Line-up includes:

BENNY BENASSI
AVICII
BLOODY BEETROOTS DEATH CREW 77
DUBFIRE
CROOKERS
GARETH EMERY
TOMMY LEE
DJ AERO
VICTOR CALDERONE
LOCO DICE...
GUTI

Now, if you love house music, dubstep, euro...you need to be at this event. I am not a promoter by any means, but I'm going because it's going to be phenomenal. And because I know how mind-blowing it's going to be, I encourage the rest of you to get out there and buy your tickets as soon as possible.

YESSSSSSSSSSSS



Get your tickets at www.theguvernment.com

Move, Eat

How many of us would absolutely adore to experience what these three guys did? I couldn't count the number. Now, if only we all had the means to do so...

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

And the best part of travelling the world? The food. Ahhh yes, the food.



Live it up!!

Y'all ain't ready for this...

This is BIG. (Capitals are not tossed around often. They are used in total seriousness.)

Magnanimous.

I will not say much, just please do me the favour by listening. That is all I ask.



You ain't even ready for this one:



Only man who does it right:



I'm sure you've heard it...just in cased you missed Drizzy's vid:

It ain't gonna wait for 'ya!

Update on "The Time Machine"

So as I've mentioned, I'm still in the process of reading "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells. If you've ever heard of the book, or are interested in reading it at all, I will provide you with a short plot summary to get you started.

As it goes,

There's a dude. He's quite the brain. He's so curious about Time being a Fourth Dimension that he decides to create a Time Machine. His curiousity gets the better of him, as it usually does--recall: the cat, and he decides to test his new invention. It shoots him into the year 800, 200 A.D.

(Wow.)

He records all he sees, hears, touches, tastes and experiences, and wow, does it blow your mind.

That's all I'm going to say about that. Honestly, it's a must-read. My dad, an English major and ex-journalist, told me it's "one of those books you need to get your hands on and read before your die."

So listen to Pop and go grab one, find a seat, sit in it, and consume a literary masterpiece.

The Help!

My mother's been updating me with more details and gossip from the book "The Help!". She can't get enough of it!

And now with Emma Stone starring in the upcoming "The Help!" movie, I'll definitely be able to acompany my mom in all her excitement.

Mi Vida en Fotographia