Day Ninety-Three - This Conversation Can Serve No Purpose Anymore

One of my very favourite places to be in Toronto is the rep. cinema. It's cheap, they show better films that you get in the regular cinemas, the snacks are inexpensive, they have a balcony and the limited decor is quite art deco. It's also quite close to my house and although in a student-y neighbourhood, it is generally free of students. Well, not entirely free - but they are severely limited. I went through a period of time when I thought that I just didn't like films - this is not the case. I just don't like most films - the ones I do like I love with a fevered intensity. I don't like rom-coms, 90% of comedies, blockbuster type dramas...so...yeah - I'm fussy.

The great thing about the Bloor Cinema is that they show old films [some kinda old, some really and truly old]. Joseph and I have always planned to go see an old film on the big screen, but we have never done it because they tend to show them on weekdays or Sunday afternoons [I don't like watching films in the middle of the day]. Tonight was a bit of an exception and I went to see a classic film in a cinema. The film? 2001: A Space Odyssey. I had seen it before when I was a lot younger [I always liked the cover of the film @ the video store and my dad rented it once], but it is the kind of film where the impact is more authentically felt in a cinema. And also, when you're not nine years old. It's a great film, to be sure, but the monoliths made me feel a bit sleepy - they certainly did not spur my consciousness onwards to greatness. Oh well...

Day Ninety-Two - Recyclers Do It Over And Over And Over

One thing that the subway has going for it is that it's generally kinda clean. I mean, I would never eat in there [but oh so many people do - gross], but it seems cleaner than other public transit that I have had the pleasure of riding. It might just be because the trains are newer. The service still sucks though - let's be clear about that. One problem area for the TTC is that people like to leave their newspapers behind. I'm not quite sure the rationale behind this - I mean, you pick up the paper [we have free daily papers here] and then don't take it with you? Why are you leaving it there? It's your responsibility to dispose of it. I just don't understand littering - it's just such an a-hole thing to do that my wee brain just can't handle it.

Normally I sit and look @ the papers on the subway that have been left behind. I'm not one to touch them [some people like to read the disgarded ones] as god only knows what discusting thing someone might have left on them. But today was different - for I had the power of gloves! So I collected newspapers and other refuse from the subway trains and disposed of them properly. Both trains I took today had papers, religious magazine things and other assorted stuff. I didn't touch any food wrappings or tissues, though. I'm not angling to get the plague or anything.

Day Ninety-One - The Big Game

As part of the United Way campaign @ my former workplace [yes, it's still strange to say it like that] I brought in a vegan chili which went down shockingly quickly and to great fanfare. I had a few people ask for the recipe and I promised them I would send it out...before a certain "big game" traditionally held at the end of the NFL season. That's right - it's 'the big game' this weekend. I find it amusing how advertisers go out of there way to not say its proper name, but of course everyone knows what it is...but I guess it's fun being coy. And, even if you don't like football at all, it is something that you might be coerced into 'celebrating.' It's an unofficial American holiday, but why should they get to have all the fun? Eating [okay, overeating - go big or go home!] tasty food, lying in a sedentary position for hours @ a time, eyes glued to a screen watching something that really doesn't matter to you with a cold drink - that's living! Or, at least - that would be a Super Sunday [wink wink, nudge nudge]. I think there are some parts of American culture that we can all get on board with.

Well, anyway - today I made good on my promise to send out the recipe - and then some. I compiled a mini cookbook and sent it out to friends and family - its theme - a food gameplan for THE BIG GAME. Here are the recipes that are included:
- Vegan “Pope of Chili Town” Chili
- Ginger-Poached Shrimp with Two Dipping Sauces
- Sweet and Tangy Chicken Wings
- Blue Cheese Dip
- First-Time-In-The-Kitchen Chicken [Or Not] Quesadillas
- Cheese and Spice Pita Chips
- Omnipresent Spinach Dip

Please let me know if you are interested in seeing any of these recipes. They all come with a little introduction as to why I like the particular recipe and a bit about their origin in my life. I've gotten a rather muted response thus far, which is a bit disheartening as I put quite a bit of effort into this. Brett is interested in cooking apparently, but wants to add extra meat to everything. You don't win friends with salad.

Day Ninety - Imelda Marcos

As previously noted, I am trying to use my fun-employment as a time where I can begin volunteering efforts - and hopefully they will stick me once I get a job [I'm being super optimistic that this will happen - go me!]. As it is my lifelong goal to work in arts/culture, I have often tried to lend a hand to local institutions of this nature. And often been rejected. Volunteering is quite competitive [ummmm - nevermind about getting a real job in this sector then?] and therefore, I've never been successful. Until now!

Today I worked my first shift as a volunteer @ the Bata Shoe Museum. The shoe museum is pretty much what it's name suggests - a museum for shoes. It is a medium-sized museum [although the building is quite large and is designed after a shoebox] and any face that the public sees is probably a volunteer. I'm working the front desk and gift shop, so it's not overly glamorous, but I really enjoyed it. I like seeing all of the people who visit the museum [on a Monday morning, no less] - it's encouraging.

And yes, I suppose I could be putting my volunteer efforts towards something more philanthropic...but this means something to me too.

Day Eighty-Nine - Venti White Hot Hold The Whip

I'm not such a freak about chocolate - for the most part I get along just fine without it. I do like Belgian chocolates [pralines especially] and English chocolate bars of any kind [especially Flake] and every so often a Mars bar or something right here in good old Toronto. So I'm not entirely sure how it came to be that I consumed so many white hot chocolates @ coffee shops during my university days. I think it's because I really don't like those "fancy" coffee drinks [trust me, I was a barista - you do not want to drink those unless you aren't already getting your daily dose of carcinogens]. So, to continue my whole vibe of feeling like a student again, I decided to recapture that moment.

I came across some recipes for making your own hot chocolate by chance the other day and thought I might give it a try. Lacking the ingredients to make regular hot chocolate I improvised and I made white hot chocolate from scratch. It was delicious, but so rich [and so much of it - I have a real problem with portion control with just about everything I make]. This also marks the first time I've felt comfortable enough working with baking ingredients to improvise anything at all. Flashbacks to the French apple cake with the extra egg were successfully averted.

Day Eighty-Eight - Robots Take Over!

Today's thing reminded me of how I used to be able to get excellent deals on clothing and shoes because I'm a wee thing. Not as wee as I used to be - but I do still get ID-ed for drinks [as recently as a month ago] and no one believes I'm as old as I say I am [why would I lie?]. I am embracing this at the moment as I like that people think I'm younger - it makes starting over in one's career and having to work from the bottom up a little less pathetic [I'm self-conscious, okay? And I'm working on that, too].

But yeah, I used to shop @ Gap Kids a lot when I was in high school as it was cheaper and some of the clothes fit me better. I stopped doing this when I initially gave up on the Gap and all foreign-produced clothing manufacturers [also their designs didn't quite fit my ever-developing "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman" shape]. I have since returned to the Gap and I wanted to spend my xmas gift card there. The adult Gap had nothing of interest and while looking for something else in the kid's section I found something that struck my fancy. It had robots! So I bought myself a shirt in the boy's department @ Gap Kids. I had to go for the size XL as the L wouldn't cover my freakishly short arms. Surprising. I really should have looked @ the boy's clothes before - the girl's department is a nightmare of pink, glitter and pleasant ideals.

This actually marks the first time I've purchased a matching shirt. However, the parents of the person who will be my little twin have been known to read le blog. I think I've already said too much...

Day Eighty-Seven - The Misguided Use of Imagination

I've always been a worrier - when I was little the piece of advice I heard the most was - lighten up. Also, I tend to do a lot of things that cause me to worry. Why? Well, because obviously I'm a gigantic dumbass. This has caused me to believe that I'm really not happy unless I'm practically disabled by worry. I'm fun that way. An enigma, wrapped in a riddle and wearing really cool boots.

I got a set of Guatemalan worry dolls when I was a tween - from my aunt and uncle and I used them quite faithfully. Therefore, I don't think they really worked as no normal 11 year old should have like five different worries each day. Then - they kinda went away. Until the other day when Joseph was cleaning out the last box we have from moving and I found more worry dolls. And since I'm still the same paranoid, obsessive and worriful individual I've always been I slept with worry dolls under my pillow. Again, I'm not sure they worked.

But I think the flaw might be in their design. I mean, they are meant to take your worries with them so that you can sleep. I don't know what's wrong with me - but my worries don't cause lack of sleep. I chalk this up to my dedication to sleeping only the bare minimum each night. I did sleep a lot longer than normal. And none of the things I was worried about happened.

Yet.

Day Eighty-Six - And Why Do We Fall?

When I started this project I accepted the fact that not everything would go according to plan. To my shock and suprise, it has - for the most part. I haven't been 100% happy with all of the results of my "things" - but I have successfully completed them. Today's thing...I did complete, but the results ain't pretty.

I have a lot of clothes. I hate shopping, but I never grow. I've been this height since I was 12 years old and my weight doesn't tend to fluctuate. Hence, the clothes. When my clothes fall into a state of disrepair I look @ them and sigh - can't they just fix themselves? Do I really have to do anything? I hold on to the clothes in need of some TLC for a while...then they fall to the bottom of the closet...and eventually they get tossed out. Okay - I know, I know! It's a horrible waste and I'm a horrible person [also, a lazy person]. So tonight I repaired clothing. I even went out and bought a special sewing kit [I am on the lookout for a proper cheap sewing machine, but nothing yet]. I had an insanely difficult time threading the needle and Joseph succeeded before I did. Then, I sewed. My stitching technique is okay, I think...but...it was a difficult thing to stitch up [the slit in Black Suit #5 had gotten too high cut - appropriate for strippers dressed like sexy secretaries maybe]...and it looks pretty bad. I am going to have to remove the stitches and redo.

Blah - I hate not doing things well.

Day Eighty-Five - Johnny Five Is Alive!

Toronto is known as Hollywood North [also known as Hollywood North was one of my close friend's family movie rental store when I was in high school] - though I'm not sure how many people refer to it as such. Also, I'm not sure how many films are shot here these days as it's now cheaper to shoot in Eastern Europe and also, writer's strike and the higher Canadian dollar are making things unattractive. But there was a glorious heyday of filming and many [okay, maybe not many...but some...okay, I can think of two] of my favourite films were filmed right here.

Toronto is also known for the Eaton Centre, although I'm not sure why as it is just a mall [a mall that never fails to give me a headache]. So, combining the two - today I visited the location where the beginning of one of my favourite movies was filmed. It's bad grammar because I'm excited. The film? Short Circuit 2! I mean, it's no Casablanca, but I love, love, love Short Circuit 2 - the way that Johnny Five kicks ass all over the place @ the end - it never fails to give you a boost. I'm not sure why I have never visited this location before as it is in the Eaton Centre - I think maybe I wasn't sure how to access that area. Today I took an elevator up and wandered around on that famed catwalk. And then Johnny Five read all the books in the World's Biggest Bookstore. And fixed himself up @ RadioShack. Robots are magical.

Urban Legends was filmed @ my university when I was in first year. Jared Leto and Rebecca Gayheart had me booted from the library. It was the first and only time I ever studied in the library. It's totally their fault I'm not more successful.

Day Eighty-Four - Back to School

No, technically I am not a working girl. However, I am opening myself up to different types of work as I am in my career transition. I know the type of work I woiuld ultimately like to do [and where I would like to do it], but in the event that this dream job does not arrive before my cashflow dries up I have to have some alternatives.

My former coworker and current friend Cristina referred me to where she is now working - which is a temp agency serving U of T and affiliates. So today after meeting with her for lunch I interviewed with a temp agency. So yes, I could very well become a "temp - bitch!" Also it was lovely to see Cristina again and I'm thankful for the referral. It was a different type of interview and also there was testing [yes I did kinda tank the Excel test]. It feels good to be productive and I'm actually quite busy this week.

However, it was bizarre to be back on campus - even though the offices are just barely on the U of T campus proper. I'm not sure this building would even be on the map. I felt all studenty again for the second time this week. I love being a student.