A Tiny Advantage

I won't get into how horrible it is that Premier Doug Ford, in the Provincial Government, has cut the size of Toronto city council. Basically it is a terrible idea, but on top of that doing it in the middle of an election is unethical. However, because The City is now 25 ridings instead of the previous 47, Vote Compass has been expanded to include city councillor races as well (maybe it was always going to do so for this election but I really like thinking there is some tiny silver lining in the disgraceful city council meddling.) In 2014 they had information for the mayor stuff, but the ward details are a great addition.

Vote Compass is an amazing tool, I love it so much and use it every election. So glad that I used it because the incumbent councillor (from my section of the ward, since there have been mergings) visited the house and I enjoyed talking to her. However, she isn't at all progressive and I didn't fully know her voting record. She voted to cut transit routes! So, good to get an idea of a more appropriate candidate for our neighbourhood. Here are my results:

This didn't tell me anything new for the mayoral race, I knew that I aligned more with Jennifer Keesmaat, she is an urban planner and I thought she was awesome in the role of Toronto Chief City Planner when she did it a few years back. I will be voting for her. However, I think John Tory is doing a good job and I will not be disappointed if (when) he is elected.

Away From It All

Escape To The Beach

Long Point, May 2018

Photo by me, taken on my phone

Throw Back Post - Binx And Mice

In a follow up to the last post, here are some stories of Binx and her fun with mice over the years:
- Mouse Crisis
- Mouse Crisis, Part Two
- CRISIS, Mouse Crisis, Part Three
- Mouse Crisis, Part Four (She ignored it in this one.)
- Mouse Crisis, Part Five

And this cute one of Two
- An Urban Mouse Catcher
According to Aunty Laura, Rusty also likes to play with computer mice and hides her's under the furniture.

Weather From A Skyscraper

There is a building in downtown Toronto that lets us know the weather forecast. I love checking out the what the weather will be by looking at the Canada Life Building. The details aren't sent to our cell phones from a tower on the roof, information isn't displayed on a flashy HD screen on the side, instead you can figure out the next day's weather by knowing the code for the lights on the, quite phallic looking, stick at the top.


Temperature: Lights moving up means tomorrow will be warmer, moving down means it will be colder. If the white bands of light are staying steady there won't be a change in temperature.

Precipitation: The big square light at the top can flash and change colour: flashing red is rain, flashing white is snow, solid red is cloudy, and solid green is clear.

Even people who have lived in Toronto for a long time don't believe me when I tell them, but it is true, The Canada Life Building, located at the corner of University and Queen, has been a weather beacon for 65 years. The building is considered historical and was built in 1929. The tower part at the top that broadcasts the weather forecast was the first of its kind in Canada when it was built in 1951, and now it is the only one of its kind left in the country.

TB - May 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

MAY 2007

I figured it out, the new roommate was Jake! I still don't know if this was the summer that I started at GeoConnections though. May 2007 was the month that I went to France to visit Anna, which was an incredible trip at the tail end of a very difficult time in my life. I had been to Paris briefly in Grade 8 when I went to France over March Break to visit my grandparents, but had only stayed in the city for a few hours. This trip during university really solidified my love and I returned again with my mom and Jason a couple of years ago for another two week stay. Yes, in just Paris, I have spent two separate two-week vacations exploring the city. However, when I visited with Anna we did head out to Chantilly for a day and in 2014 we went to visit Versailles.

Noted Post: The moment that I fell in love with The Eiffel Tower.

Casa Verde - Our New Home

Happy New Year! I wanted to start 2016 off with a big announcement – Jason and I bought a house!!! We are very excited and it was a grueling process, the Toronto housing market is insane. I was frequently upset and stressed during 2015, especially the past few months, dealing with the overwhelming task of trying to buy a house in Toronto; giving up and looking at places in the general GTA or even further away kept looking like a tempting option (though the market anywhere that is considered commutable to Toronto is pretty rough.) I am glad that we stuck with our goal to stay in The City. We have found a place that we are very happy with.

We were able to buy a detached 3 bedroom house in the Mount Dennis area. It has been named Casa Verde, which roughly translates to Green House in Spanish (the second most common language spoken in the area.) Right now old windows and lack of insulation mean that the house isn't very energy efficient and it is our goal to work towards making it a more eco-friendly property. Jason and I are also very 'green' when it comes to home owning.

There are a lot of renovations to be done, so even though we take possession in mid-March we probably won't be moving in until a few weeks after that. I can't wait to start posting fun Before and After shots of the renovations and decorating.

A Glorious Morning

I woke up on this grey Tuesday to a wonderful new world, for the following reasons (not in order of importance):

- It is Fall in Toronto
I really love living in this city and it is the best in September and October. It reminds me of the quote from You've Got Mail: "Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils..." only about Toronto instead of NYC. Jason and I are getting married in a year and we picked the date partly because it is so beautiful here in this season.

- There is a New Star Wars Trailer
Overnight a longer trailer (the teaser came out a while back) for the new Star Wars movie was released online. I was insanely excited by the short little teaser, this longer trailer is amazing. Jason has already organized with P and a bunch of their friends to go on Saturday December 19th at 4:30pm. We have tickets to see it in IMAX.

- The Liberals Have a Majority Government
This recent Canadian Federal Election pretty much became a quest to get Stephen Harper out of office while dealing with the complexities of a multi-party system. After voting last night I went to bed hoping to wake-up and find out that the political landscape of Canada would be shifting 'left.' It has, the Liberal party now has a majority of the seats. I am a bit sad that my beloved NDP lost so much ground but I do feel like a lot of their gains were due to how awesome Jack Layton was, and now that he is gone their buzz has settled down.

- Jays are now 1-2 in the ALCS
I really don't care about baseball, but the exciting news that the Toronto Blue Jays won last night's ALCS playoff game meant that this photo of Avery got posted on Facebook, which made me very happy!

Go Jays Go!

Avery, October 2015

By Recommendation

Literally everyone that I asked for suggestions from, of what to do in Chicago, mentioned the Architecture Boat Tour On The River. So yesterday, Jason and I decided that would be our main activity for the day. We are trying to keep costs down and the $42 a person price tag was a bit of a deteriorate for us, the Canadian Dollar is so low in comparison to the American that everything is pricier than we would like it to be. However, this was seriously mentioned by everyone as almost a mandatory experience.

We waited fairly late to head into downtown because it was the Chicago Marathon and was going to be packed. When we were trying to find a place to stay in Chicago for this weekend we couldn't figure out why everything was booked and so insanely expensive, it is one of the reasons that our AirBnB ended up being so far away from downtown was that we couldn't find or afford anything closer. It wasn't until Meg mentioned it recently that we figured out that Canadian Thanksgiving is the same weekend as the marathon and that was why. Tomorrow is also Columbus day, but that doesn't seem to be that major of a holiday, we didn't even notice it happening in NYC last year.

When we did get downtown in the early afternoon it was still really busy, lots of people in running gear with medals on. We went fairly quickly to the river to get tickets and found out they were sold out until 5:00pm, we got those and prepared to wander downtown, which we hadn't really done yet. We went to Millennium Park and saw The Bean. Ate our packed lunch and walked along the lake and river front.

Turns out 5:00 is the perfect time to do the boat tour! The docent/guide kept mentioning how beautiful the low light was on the buildings since he normally does midday tours he was quite excited. The tour lived up to the hype. I could have stayed on that boat listening to the guide talk about architecture for hours more. The 90 minutes flew by and having the different styles pointed out and explained was an incredible experience. I would FOR SURE recommend this as an important thing to do when visiting the city.

Trying True Deep Dish Pizza For The First Time

Jason at Giordano's - Hyde Park

Oct 11, 2015 - Photo by ME with my phone

After the cruise, we went looking for deep dish pizza for dinner, lots of Google Maps searches. Teri had mentioned the chain Giordano's as a good place to go, I had also noticed the Lou Malnati's as a popular place with lots of locations as well. We took The Loop, the elevated subway system, to go to one Lou Malnati's place that was close by, the line up was insane. Then I remember that Giordano's had a location near our apartment, turned out it was walking distance away and we just headed south to that one. There was a much smaller line.

I loved deep dish (or stuffed) pizza! Definitely my preferred in the whole Chicago and NYC pizza debate. Jason leans much further on the side of New York but still enjoyed the Chicago style.

Finally Saw The Bean

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

For a long time I didn't know where Stonehenge was. This was because I visited England between Grades 5 and 6 for over month with my family, and we never saw it. We saw so many sites in England the idea that my parents didn't take us to this Wonder of the World was unfathomable to me, so I spent all of high school and most of university thinking that was somewhere else. When Steph finished at Carlton, we celebrated by going on a trip to London and she wanted to see Stonehenge, we actually fraught a bit about it being in the country (and Steph is obsessed with Stonehenge so I have no idea why I argued.) We ended up seeing it and now I obviously know what country it is in.

I had been having a similar experience with The Bean. It can't be in Chicago, cause if it was, why hadn't my dad and I visited it when we came in 1994?

As I mentioned before, the only other time that I had visited Chicago was when I came with my parents over 20 years ago. My mom had a conference to attend, which meant that my dad and I hung out together during the day. We stayed at the Blackstone Hotel (some of The Untouchables was filmed there), which is next to the Hilton where my mom's conference was. These hotels are on South Michigan Avenue, just across from the big park area on Chicago's waterfront, we walked along the lake when it wasn't too cold or windy.

The only major attraction we visited here was the big aquarium, besides that we just went to all the free art galleries. Dad loved this because they were free and he has a certain cursory interest in art. Also, because I was young, we probably were moving through them in at a good pace. So, with this emphasis on art, visits to the waterfront parkland, and desire to see things that didn't cost anything, how come I never saw The Bean (which I hear K is pretty obsessed with and likes to visit it multiple times when she visits the city.)?

Turns out it wasn't even there! The planning for Millennium Park didn't start until 1997, and Cloud Gate (The Bean) wasn't added until 2006.

Our Chicago Commute

Chicago Skyline - Rental Bikes

Jason and I, 2015

We brought our helmets with us from Canada.

Yesterday, Saturday, was pretty tiring. We have slept in a bit this morning to recover. Yesterday was tiring because we decided to bike into the city and continue north of downtown. Chicago has an incredible bike share program (Divy) that we had read about ahead of coming here (hence we brought our helmets to use since they aren't provided.) There was a station to pick up the bikes right beside our apartment building and we rode along the Lakefront Trail. We stopped at Lincoln Park Zoo after over 20km biking, seemed even longer because the bikes were heavy and slow - definitely not the road bike that Jason is used to. We walked around the zoo and conservatory, both of which were free. When we took the train home the bus that would bring us to the apartment wasn't due for another 20 minutes. There was a Divy rack right beside the station and our day use of the bikes was still valid. We just unlocked two with our codes and rode the rest of the way back!

Like We Live Here

Yesterday was our first full day in Chicago. It was spent relaxing and sort of doing things that we would do if we lived here. Jason has a cold so I went for a walk in the morning to pick up some medicine at a pharmacy and grab us coffee at the local Starbucks.

The studio apartment we rented is across from a park and in the winter would have a view beyond the park to lake; you can't see the water because of the leaves on all the trees at the moment. The area is really nice, but far from the main area of the city. I keep referring to it as the Long Branch of Chicago, though Scarborough might be a closer comparison. A Metra station is right around the corner from where we are staying, this is the rapid transit for the region, like GO, and isn't connected to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Even though the Metra would get us north and into downtown quicker, we have a 7-day pass for the CTA so just use that instead, sometimes taking a bus west to grab a train or using one of the buses that run along the lakefront.

We went grocery shopping, there weren't a lot of options near by and the place we went to was fairly expensive. (Lots of organic and fancy stuff, bit like a Whole Foods.) However, we were able to get stuff for breakfasts and dinners at the apartment, and things to take for lunches when we are wandering around the city. I didn't look closely enough at the AirBnB listing and it has a big fridge and some kitchen stuff, there is no real sink or anything to cook food with (not even a microwave or toaster.) It doesn't say that it has a kitchen on the listing, in fact that is crossed off as an amenity, I think I just saw the big fridge in the pictures and assumed.

After having some grocery store rotisserie chicken for dinner, Jason and I took transit to a Robot Date Night that we had booked. We built a couple of robots and won against the other couples in Robot Movie Trivia (ok, mainly Jason won.)

These Robots Can Walk

(Not invented by us, just assembled from a kit, still fun though!)

Travel Diary - Sunday July 26, 2015

Date: Sunday July 26, 2015
Theme/Title: Meet Up With Monica
Overview: Woke up early to catch our flight. Jason drove me to the airport to meet up with Teri. Flew to Seattle and were picked up by Monica and her boyfriend. A couple of quick tours of the city. A nice group dinner where I got to catch up with Rich.
Woke-up: 5:05am at Rrunuv Bayit
Transportation/Distance: Flight: 3,300km Walking: 4km
Meals: Tim Horton's at the airport. German pub food. Tacos at The Saint.
Highlight of the Day: Learning about "skid row" during the Underground Seattle tour.
Lesson Learnt: At Pearson Airport you go through American customs before boarding, so add that into the time to check-in, drop baggage, and get through airport security. Teri was not wrong about needed at least 2 hours in travelling to the US.
Movie of the Day: The DUFF, watched by both Teri and I on the plane, separately. Formulaic but enjoyable.
Quote of the Day: "Stripper Stuff" -- overheard by Teri from a passerby, we are very curious about the context
Night's Accommodation: Monica's spare room

NYC Romance - II

After visiting the museum, we went for a walk around Central Park. It was nice and sunny, best weather of the trip. We spent some time sitting on a big rock (sore feet) as well as wandering around. The sun began to set and we watched the light change across the many buildings around the park - so beautiful.

Central Park Selfie!

Jason and I - One of the many Central Park bridges

NYC Romance - I

Took a late-night stroll over The Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge itself is not lit up so it isn't as nice as during the day. However, it is much quieter and the view of the skyline is beautiful.

Brooklyn Bridge Selfie!

Jason and I - A Quiet Midnight Walk

Thoughts On A Tuesday

If I have to borrow someone's deodorant, as soon as I put it on, I no longer feel totally myself. Somehow, a small percentage of my identity is tied to my regular brand.

I think birds hold dead people's souls.

Most people I know who grew up in an urban centre don't know how to use high beams properly. Also, it seems like the flashing light to mean 'advanced green' is being replaced by arrows on traffic lights.

Dogs On A Caturday

Jason and I are looking after 3 dogs this weekend. (The littlest one is James', the black one is her brother's, and the larger one is her parents'.) Instead of invading Two's space for three days, we are spending most of the weekend up at James' parents' cottage near Collingwood, which they have graciously lent to us so we can look after the dogs somewhere that has a good yard. It is really quiet and relaxing.

Let Me Buy You An Owl

I watched her hair turn into leaves.
Don't play with your punctuation Timmy!
It isn't everyday you see your eyebrows.
Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk.
Here, let me buy you an owl.
Why can't it always be Tuesday?
I wish that you'd seen me before I started knitting.
Walk the dog. Walk the dog. Walk the dog.
You shouldn't take the sidewalk at face value.
I can hypnotize my goldfish with a spoon.
Don't make me show you the tea towels!
Take it now. Take it now. Take it now.
Don't park on the coral reef.
Thomas takes everything to the other side.
Please watch the bananas.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Not Used To Toronto Prices

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

I am looking forward to spending this Wednesday at Hey Lucy's with Kristen and Tessa. We have been trying to get together on a Wednesday for a long time, and this date has been in my planner for a few weeks now. Hopefully Kiyomi can come too and we can celebrate her birthday. Danielle might come too and maybe even Noah and Jason. Could turn into a big gathering!

The reason we are looking to go on a Wednesday is that their normally $9 martinis are only $4.50.

I was telling my mom this and she told me that her and Dad went their once before or after going to the theater. (Hey Lucy's is in the Entertainment District near all the major Toronto theaters.) Well, I gather that my dad got very excited about the 1/2 price martinis (I don't know if they went on a Wednesday, but the deal is also available every day before 5pm.) Anyway, unfortunately, my dad saw the $4.50 price at the top of the menu and must not have read very closely after hearing that it was 50% off, so he assumed that it was half off that price, and therefore $2.25. Well, I guess he was pretty surprised when the bill came. I can't imagine a drink in Toronto ever being less than $3!

A Commute Comparison

Monday's commute to work on the TTC:
- wake up late, the snooze button is my friend
- feeling tired and sad
- dreading returning to work after the holidays
- look all over the house for pieces of clothes, that may or may not be clean
- outfit feels uncomfortable and unattractive
- grab a few grapes on my way out the door
- so insanely cold outside; feet, fingers, and face freeze
- have to walk slow because the ice on the sidewalk is terrible
- unable to find my metropass in my purse
(kind streetcar driver lets me on anyway)
- continued frantic search for metropass proves fruitless
- not enough change to pay the fare when I transfer to the bus
- an attempt to break a $20 bill at McDonalds fails due to their lack of change
- wait forever for a Dufferin bus, many come but there isn't room
- crowded bus arrives and I have to squeeze in
(kind bus drive lets me on after only paying $2.25 instead of $3)
- bus and/or crowd of people smell awful
- floor of bus is covered in water and slush; bus is warm, making me sweat
- had to bring second pair of socks for the commute home, feet are soaked
- high school students talk incessantly, about nothing
(I do get a seat after the mass exit at Dufferin Station)
- sitting on a sideways seat squished between two people
- purse and lunchbag on my lap, the bulk is adding to the heating and sweating
- bus is announced to short turn at Queen
- scramble for phone to text my boss that I might be late due to the short walk
(the walk up the hill to work ends up being fast, nice, and refreshing)
- forgot to wear the new watch I got for Christmas
- hat hair
- dress shoes kept at work are in worse shape than I remembered
- fan in the office is making a loud and distracting noise but is on too high a shelf for me to reach
(when I get my computer turned out, I find out that I did arrive in time, a couple minutes to spare actually)

Friday's commute to work on the TTC:
- wake up after hitting the snooze button a couple of times
- feeling refreshed, healthy, and awake
- a basic but cute outfit can be made from the pile of clean laundry piled on my desk
- enjoy some canned peaches
- warm but still softly snowing outside
- a light sprinkle of snow of the roads and sidewalk that has yet to turn to slush
- streetcar arrives moments after I get to the stop
- a TTC token in my pocket, replaced by a transfer on the streetcar
- streetcar is clean and travels down St. Clair West quickly
- someone walks by and I catch a brief scent of nice perfume/cologne 
- I daydream but still manage to catch my proper stop and get off without issue
(miss a mostly empty bus that passes me as I approach the stop)
- a quick transfer with no waiting, a bus comes quickly and I can get on
- after a few stops I am able to walk to the back of the bus and stand out of the way
- the bus nearly empties at Dufferin Station, I get a seat and few people get on
- bus driver negotiates the busy street smoothly, the bus is quiet 
- a double seat to myself, I can see people walking dogs out of the window
- lots of squirrels in the big park
- the driver opens the back doors for me just as I reach them
- walking to my building I pass some nice infrastructure projects we have been working on and they look good
- run into the building's superintendents, have a nice walk-and-talk
- watch Jason gave me says I'm 15 minutes early
Needless to say, I had a good commute today!

Game For My Commute

I am too groggy most mornings to read on my almost hour-long transit commute to work. (I always read on my trip home, which sadly is shorter, and then seems even shorter because I am reading.)

Before she traveled over to Stockholm to do her Masters, Anne visited Toronto for a little while this past summer. One thing she said she noticed (besides the fact that Toronto smells, which is unfortunately true most summer days) was that there seemed to always be sirens going and emergency vehicles rushing around. She would point them out to me as another fire truck, EMS, ambulance, or police car drove past and I kept saying, "It is strange, I swear it isn't usually this bad."

I realized though, that maybe I had gotten used to it. In Paris, we lived a couple of blocks from the train tracks; I got so used to the light window shaking and noise that accompany the trains I could even tell you how many passed during the day/night. Perhaps it had become the same with the noises of Toronto.

So, I now play a morning game with myself - Can I make it to work without sirens? Well, turns out for the most part, I can't. They seriously happen all the time. I get excited if I am a couple of blocks from work and haven't seen/heard one - then in most cases I see cops rush past (we have a station near work.) So, near work it is usually police and closer to home it is fire trucks, either way there are a lot of sirens happening in this city! But I want to start winning the game more!