Day Three Hundred and Thirty-Six - Psycho-NOTs

So, in my 2007 Best/Worst Of Roundup [please see here] I designated a videogame called Psychonauts as my runner-up for best videogame of the year. I stand by that. In the game there is much talk and manipulation of "psi" - but just what the heck is it? Apparently it's a "real" thing [as real as any kinda fruity out of the body/existential/psychic crap is]. I was illuminated to this through Wikihow, which also instructed me on how to make use of my own psi. I don't think I have any as I made a psi wheel and then got very, very frustrated when nothing happened. And I mean nothing. For a while I thought I had something cooking, but it turns out that it was just my breathing. I need to work on that.

Eventually, I enlisted Joseph's help. He's way more patient than I am and seems to have a knack for actually doing useful things with all manners of paper. Also, he is the one who actually played the Psychonaughts game, so obviously he would have one-up on little old me, right? Right? Oh, only not. He did get it to work a little bit, but not consistently [though still better than me]. I don't have photos [or video] because we both got frustrated and deconstructed the wheel so that it can no longer plague us, but I would invite you to visit the Wikihow page and make one yourself. I would really love to know what the secret is as I tried everything. Many, many different types of paper [and tin foil], different pins, different ways of putting the pins in the eraser, different locations in the house...and nothing. I guess I have no telekinetic ability...I should probably remove that from my resume then.

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-Five - Cost Of Living

So, inspired by fellow thing-a-dayer Kathy who did a similar thing last week, I looked @ the calendar and thought - oh my heck, I really need to get on it if I want to do @ least some of the neat-o things I had on my original list. And while this one isn't super exciting or adventurous - it fits quite perfectly with my neurotic nature. Today I calculated how much my daily foodstuffs cost. With Kathy's she compared her daily intake to what people are given for foodstamps. Since we have no such thing here in Canada, I just did mine for personal interest. Plus, it's healthier for me than counting calories. Also, people are frequently shocked to hear how little Joseph and I spend on food per month [usually around $150 per month]. What can I say - the frakking Price Chopper has some benefits.

I don't really eat breakfast and lunch, but I do snack all day and then I have a proper dinner. So, here is what I ate and the cost of each item [I will also total it up for my fellow math-challenged people].

Morning Snacks:
Coffee [black] - 8 cents
Strawberry cereal bar - 24 cents
Royal Gala apple - 36 cents

Afternoon Snacks:
Maple and brown sugar oatmeal - 24 cents
Green tea - 8 cents
Applesauce - 33 cents

Dinner:
Lemon Perrier [half-bottle] - 64 cents
Cheese-filled spinach tortellini with marinara sauce - $1.72
Tea [black] - 2 cents

Snack:
Jasmine green tea - 6 cents
Ice milk fudge bar - 24 cents
Vodka & soda - $1.50

I love how only two of my things are over one dollar. The dinner was obviously the hardest to calculate as I had to sort out how much one-half serving of olive oil might cost. So, yes, my total food cost for the day was: $5.51 - which is quite a bit more than Kathy's...although in my defense I think food costs more in Canada.

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-Four - In The Army Now

So I've been cultivating what I knew would be a really amazing migraine headache since Wednesday - if the headache part were ever to arrive. Well, it arrived late Saturday evening/early Sunday morning. It was total sensory overload with a lot of dizziness and nausea and allowed me the opportunity to spend some time throwing up. How thinspiring. While on the floor of our bathroom I noticed that our toilet was less than springtime fresh. I mean, it's a toilet so obviously I don't expect it to smell like pumpkin pie...but still...when you're sticking your head it there it should @ least be tolerable. Once I recovered from my migraine episode [which, in lasting five days I do believe that's a record breaker for me] I decided to do something about senor toilet and I scrubbed the toilet with a toothbrush. I've never really understood why someone would do this as it seems inefficient and tiresome...but then, I think it's used as punishment in the military and such so I guess that makes sense.


As you can see by my gleamingly clean toilet, it does do a pretty nifty job. The small brush allows you to really get in there and discover all sorts of discusting-ness that was probably lurking in there even after you cleaned it. I guess this might not have been the most appealing thing for a recovering sickie to be doing, but I can't say that it didn't give me a great feeling of accomplishment.

[and yes, i know that i'm totally keeping it classy by posting a photo of my toilet on my blog. yee-ha. also, this item totally was on my original ET list.]

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-Three - Juzz

I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a big jazz fan. I was worried that this would be a source of complication in my relationship with Joseph's family as his father is a big jazz fan. As a result I have attempted to gain a bit of an appreciation for jazz/blues/etc. type of music over the past ten years. I feel that I could really connect with this genre as I believe that it shares many of the same themes as other types of music that I genuinely like such as classic country and western music and woeful alterna-pop music. And opera. Yknow - the general theme of everything sucking and then more awful things happening, but the beauty of the music makes it beautiful and life is okay to go on. I like that. So, while love of jazz is still the best way to tell me and Lisa Simpson apart [other than that and the one finger less thing, we are way too similar]...I feel like I've grown in music appreciation over the last decade [eeeep - decade! i'm old!].

Anyway, after a semi-successful shopping trip this afternoon [Joseph being partly successful in buying electronic bits to make something neat-o and me being partly successful @ buying pants - they are pretty okay pants and I'm saying this as someone who hates pants...although they do have to be altered - argggh - either i'm shrinking or the Gap is upping their vanity sizing again] we were going to reward ourselves with some exciting dinner option - perhaps sushi was the plan. But as we were walking to the subway we noticed some loud-ish, but appealing music coming from The Rex, one of Toronto's most renowned [i think?] jazz clubs. We went over to check out the menu since it's not available online [one of my biggest Patrick Bateman pet peeves]...and then we made a bold decision - we decided to go in and I had dinner at The Rex, a jazz club. The verdict? It was pretty darn worth the risk of trying something new, both in terms of sustinence and entertainment. The food is standard pub fare, though they do offer multiple vegetarian options...and the chips were a-mazing [and I am a chip conoisseur]. When we first arrived there was a large-ish big band/swing type of thing happening with an extensive horn section and a female singer. I liked this quite a bit - loud and brassy...and reminds me of an older time that I might have preferred to live in. After a brief pause a smaller blues band came on and they were also quite agreeable. Though The Rex doesn't generally charge a cover, we put my partially shredded $10 plus some heavier coin into a "music appreciation jar." I think we will definitely be back - it seems like a great place to tip a few back after whatever tiresome activity we have engaged in on Queen West [which is truly one of the most tiresome places in the whole of Toronto].

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-Two - Bar Bet

I have never personally encountered this, but apparently there are people who will engage in little contests/bets while @ a pub in order to earn free drinks. Granted, most of these little games require some sort of skill that I would not have if I were a-drinkin'...but it's a good idea in theory - free booze and impressing people, that is. I would caution that if someone tries to engage you in such a bet, they probably know what they are doing and you will probably lose your money. However, you might get to see a neat-o trick, so it might be worth it. And yet, if that person is me...you will probably be greatly disappointed.

Tonight I attempted to open a beer bottle with a $10 bill. I had read about this on Wikihow and it seemed to make sense, in principle. In practice, this would seem to be very difficult if not impossible to achieve. The notes for the Wikihow entry say that one will need to have a strong upper body...something that, despite my best Wii Fit efforts, I clearly do not have. The bottle cap did not budge...but it did tear up my $10 quite handsomely [and $10 is more than what the entire case of beer cost - d'oh!]. Undeterred, I moved on to finding some other methods of getting this cap off and finally, after about 30 minutes of struggle and losing about one-third of the bottle of beer, I did it - I opened a beer bottle without using an opener. I attempted to save the cap to photograph for proof, but Joseph was a little overzealous in his Friday night cleaning [perhaps fueled by the 2/3 of a beer]. After failing to open with the bill, I moved to looking around for something sturdy in our house that I could kinda slam it against to open...or a nook and/or cranny to stick the bottle in. No such luck. Either I was too tentative in my slamming of the bottle/my hand or the cap was on too tight, I'm not sure. And I couldn't find anything to jam the bottle into to pop off the top [I've heard that door jams - where the door locks - can be used...I'm here to say I don't think so]. Then I moved on to personal accessories, specifically one of my belts [I have two belts]. And while the buckle is solid metal and has a squared edge, I couldn't get the cap to catch. Finally, I turned to another bottle of beer [the solution to and cause of all life's problems!]. By hooking the two caps together and applying more pulling pressure to the one I wanted open - ta-dah! It opened! Very...slowly...and ineffciently and messily...but ultimately the cap was entirely removed and most of the beer was successfully retrieved. The rest of it landed in the sink and on my shirt. I smell like a brewery and I don't even feel like having a beer.

There's a good lesson here, kids. If you ever lose your bottle opener - it's clearly a sign. You are too drunk to continue drinking - this is far too much effort.

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-One - Springtime Fresh

For many, many reasons I am a crummy vegetarian. Reason #1 would have to be the fact that I eat fish. Not often...or a lot of fish [and I've recently eliminated other forms of seafood like crab and lobster in an attempt to wean myself off the sea]...but I do acknowledge that fishes are living things and I would do well to stop eating them. Unless they insist. I can't help it - I just don't find it as gross as other meat. Anyway, another reason why I'm a bad vegetarian is because I eat a lot of carbs in place of meat or sensible meat substitutes. I am carb crazy...and honestly I think that everyone is to a certain extent. Carbs feature prominently in every type of cuisine around the world...and let's face it - they are fan-tastic. Although I adore bread, my main source of carb is pasta - it's cheap, cheerful and plentiful and you can make it a million different ways and not miss the presence of animal carcass. That being said - this week was pretty epic in our house for pasta as we had it everyday...Monday - fettucine alfredo...Tuesday - spaghetti marinara...Wednesday - vegetable lasagne...and today, Thursday - I made pasta primavera! My photo doesn't really do it justice or display the many, many vegetables too prominently...


See - I've always had it in for pasta primavera. Back when I became vegetarian it was one of the many banes of my existence when eating @ restaurants. No matter what type of restaurant...sitting there on the menu like a lame duck was pasta primavera. And that was your vegetarian "choice" [there would be nothing else...so really, not much of a choice]. It was always bland, uninspiring, pedestrian...noodles with what seemed to be rehydrated frozen vegetables. Hooray. And quite often you would end up paying close to $20 for the honour of eating this. My pasta primavera was a bit of a departure, so allow me to explain. I used a lot of different vegetables: button mushrooms, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, courgettes and tomatoes were all roasted with olive oil, garlic and basil. Broccoli and snow peas were added near the end. Vegetable pasta was used, as well as a blend of Parmesan and Romano cheeses. The end result was so delicious that I just might eat the leftovers. Maybe.

Day Three Hundred and Thirty - Before The Fruit Flies Regroup

Joseph and I have been living on our own for eight years now ["on our own" defined as not with parents and not in university residence] and in that time there is rarely a time when we don't have bananas in the house. Yes, I know - one should try to reduce one's environmental footprint by not buying exotic fruits, but what can I say? They are cheaper than dirt [particularly that fancy dirt with nutrients and such] and pack a nutritional punch. Ka-pow! And while that's all well and good there are many stragglers in the banana bunches that invariably go to the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak - they quite simply go bad. My recent strategy for dealing with this is to make a banana and chocolate cake [low-fat!] and for a while, I was making them on a weekly basis. Joseph's lifetime strategy [and I think that other people in his family do this] is to make a "banana milkshake." Yes, it must be in quotations...because while it's unmistakably banana...I refuse to call this concoction a milkshake. It's more like banana...milk? And milkshakes are very thick to the point that they should be nearly impossible to drink.

Well, as of today the fruit fly situation is under control, but we did have a banana situation on lockdown [in the microwave...which some fruit flies apparently did get into somehow]. So, Joseph decided to make banana milkshake and for the first time ever I drank banana milkshake, as prepared by Joseph. I requested a lot of honey because I am none too sweet and I think I got a lot of honey, although I firmly believe that my tastebuds are all screwed up [my tastebuds tell me that grapes of any kind are the sourest things on the planet, for example]. And I must admit - the banana non-milkshake was much better than what I have been assuming for all of these years. It was pretty tasty. I'm not sure that I will be partaking of this on a weekly basis, but I feel I should encourage Joseph in his culinary endeavours regardless [he used to cook many different things, now...not so much - he's still the fried egg and pancake master, but that's about it]. And although it's clearly not a milkshake in the strictest sense of the word - I refuse to let semantics get in the way of deliciousness.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty-Nine - Yuebing

I'm not quite sure how it happened - it was probably the relentless advertising by Mandarin on the classic rock radio station - but I got it into my head that I would seek out an consume a mooncake. It was the Moon Festival and Toronto has a large Chinese population [word on the street is that there are three distinct Chinatowns in the city], so I thought tracking one down would be easy enough. And, it was...kinda...as my friend Kathryn came to my rescue and told me that she could procure one for me. So today I cycled over to my old office [9 kilometres! yeah!] and picked up my mooncake. Then tonight with some tea I ate a mooncake. I still have no idea what was inside, but it was not entirely unpleasant so I'm okay with it. My camera so did not want to focus on the mooncake, but here is the photo anyway. The design was very intricate and smooth feeling [although it did not smell great and yes, I must smell everything].


I was worried that I would really dislike it as I was told that mooncakes are typically very sweet and my friend Lisa said that she wasn't keen on them. So, I guess I was pleasantly surprised...although to be honest it didn't taste like too much. Ingredients that were definitely present were sesame seeds, slivered almonds [about 85% sure that's what they were] and some sort of sweet-ish [although not overwhelmingly so] brown-ish/transparent paste. I can't honestly say what the flavour was...it just...was. And no, I did not eat it outside under the moon. Because I was watching The First 48 and the harvest moon is finished anyway. I realize now that I should have taken a photo of the inside of the mooncake...but it's a little too late for that now.

Day Three Hundred and Twenty-Eight - Teenybopper

In their heyday I was a huge New Kids on the Block fan. Ladies, I know what most of you are thinking "oh, me too!" And, I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you right there...because, no...you quite simply don't understand. I was like...rendered mentally [and financially] unstable by my love for New Kids. To offer some proof - the New Kids are back together and touring and many of my female friends on Facebook [who I haven't really spoken to since high school] have been sending me messages re: New Kids [even their parents remember my insane, insane love]. So, approaching 30 years old...this - insane fangirling over some lame-o boyband...*that's* my legacy. I can't help but feel that I've wasted my life. The funny thing is - I have no interest in New Kids...their reunion...their new album...pop culture nostalgia holds no value for me [though history and nostalgia of other types is obviously quite valuable to someone like me who just can't let go].

Anyway, Joseph [and others] have been known to give me a hard time about my past love of New Kids [in the interest of full disclosure...my fandom not only included the acquisition of all types of merchandise...but also involved me being forcibly removed from a shopping mall due to inciting a NKOTB-related riot...I might have been charged with someone, but I was barely 12 years old so no one really cared...clearly I've always been a menace to society]. He claimed that New Kids were really terrible...not just terrible due to being a boyband...but terrible AS a boyband. I have contended that they were trailblazers in pop [and merchandising] and that, therefore, they must have been doing something right. Mind you, up until tonight I stood by this claim without being able to accurately recall the music. Well, on Saturday while standing in line for Behemoth I heard some vaguely familiar warbling from the speakers...could it be? It was! I'll Be Loving You Forever by New Kids! And...oh...god...no. It was really...not good [though hearing New Kids while @ Wonderland in line for a new ride would have caused my 12-year-old self's wee brain to explode with happiness]. And that song was really a signature New Kids tune...but...if it was bad - what of the rest of their musical oeuvre?!?

Tonight I decided to put my fears to the test and I listened to New Kids on the Block as a fully-grown adult. And I watched the music videos, too. To be honest, I know my mum kept all my New Kids stuff as a testimony perhaps to my idiocy...but I dunno when [if ever] I will be unearthing any of those gems. And yeah...my fully-grown adult reaction to my pre-teen obsession? I'm afraid this is one of those times when Joseph is right. The music...she is not good, even by boyband standards. The musical production seems really, really lackluster - as if no actual musical instruments were used in the production of the music. Everything sounds so...plinky? Yknow? I must admit though, that Jordan's voice is semi-impressive [not my style, but he had/has? range] and Joe's voice is actually quite nice - my favourite, in fact. And Donnie remains extremely charismatic, even while engaging in some of the most painful white boy rapping ever [I point you toward the song Games, which just might be the reason I was pushed towards gangster rap for a solid five years of my life]. Danny remains fug. And Jon? Yeah, he's there. In one of the videos they were attempting to demonstrate how wild and crazy their lifestyle is [I believe it's the Tonight video - the song has been described as Beatles-esque...but obviously, no...although I think it's probably one of my favourites by default] he is pictured reading. READING!?! THE CRAZINESS! In another attempt to show what bad boys they are they are shown vaulting over the subway turnstiles, only to turn back and put in the token. Woah. This same video, Call It What You Want features a cold open by that C&C Music Factory guy which actually caused me to physically recoil in horror and push my laptop away from me. Which leads us to...the dancing. I think the dancing is worse than the music. You could really look @ any video for examples. Even if the choreography was tight [it isnt'] it would look awful and a bit insane. One of their later songs, If You Go Away actually has quite haunting vocals by Joe and a bit of Jordan...but the video is filmed entirely in shadow and the only dancing is some chick in ripped up jeans and a white t-shirt writhing [kinda? but in a non-sexy way] really slowly in the dark...her face is never shown...and it's a ballad...it's bizarre - please go check it out. However, I was delighted to unearth a previously unseen early video for Please Don't Go Girl featuring a very young Joe trying to seduce a woman older than what I am now...and at the end of the video their names pop up onscreen as they show each Kid. It's pretty awesome.

Well, look @ that - I guess I still am a bit of a fangirl. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in the music and videos and overall cuteness of the band. I guess it proves how much of a dum I was [and probably still am]. To be honest [and Joseph offered this defence himself] - the music industry has simply gotten better @ packaging and producing pop music [not just poppy pop/boybands, but anything mainstream like rap, country, rock]. Hooks are catchier and the music just sounds better [even if it's not better - it seems like it is]. It's a bit sad, though. And while I don't have the interest in New Kids anymore...I do remember when I lost that lovin' feeling [so to speak]. The day when I put down my New Kids cassettes in favour of something else [likely Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch - baby steps, people]...and took down all of the posters...I do remember making these choices. And it did feel as though I was moving on - it meant something to me. I know it's dopey...but putting aside childhood things is very tough [especially when you are acutely aware of it as I was @ age 13]...and I guess I can still look back on those days of screaming and obsessing and near-arrests as evidence of my happy funtime childhood [and try to put aside the shame].

Day Three Hundred and Twenty-Seven - The House That Became A Home

I think everyone knows that I am a big baseball fan and that my favourite team is the Yankees [though because of geography I watch the Blue Jays a lot more as we get all of those games]. Well, this year has been pretty disappointing for both of my teams, although I will admit that watching the Blue Jays since Cito Gaston's return has been pure entertainment and maybe next year...? However, tonight the Yankees had reason for festivity, despite not making the post-season. Tonight I watched the final game in [what is now] old Yankee Stadium. Because not all ETs need to be new things...I guess I could have thought of more things to do for the last thing. A bit depressing though. And yet, it also felt like it was a World Series game...it felt like it mattered.

And yes, it was a little depressing as I am someone who doesn't like things to end. I'm not entirely sure why they needed a new Yankee Stadium, although it does look very flash. To me, Yankee Stadium *is* baseball. All of the legendary players, teams and all those championships...of course memories can be moved across the street too, but it's just not the same. It's not the same space that was home to the Babe and Joltin' Joe and Mr. October...you won't be able to physically see the places where all those great things happened. And that's sad, right? I get way too emotionally attached to physical things, so I have to hold it in check. But, it was a nice game. Two homeruns, the Yankees one, Der-ek Jet-er made a cute, pandering speech...all is well. I just hope that I can make it to the new stadium within the next year.