Oh, And I Have Voted

So, another quick follow-up to my municipal election post: I voted.

Jason and I went to the advance polls, which close this evening so you probably missed them - make sure you go out on election day, October 22!! We got our voter cards in the mail and they had our polling location info on it - stopped over at a nearby community centre to cast our ballots on Thursday. We are away on the main day, doing a short little trip to Alberta.

Fun Fact: There are 35 mayoral candidates in the Toronto election this year and at least two of them are neo-nazis. (Actually, not a fun fact, frankly a disgusting reality.)

Finally Finished

At the end of last summer I got this strange breakout on my chin and around my mouth. I tried to just deal with it myself for a little while (which actually ended up making it worse) before asking my doctor about it. Turns out it was Perioral Dermatitis and I needed to use a topical antibiotic to get rid of it - for nine weeks! Today I am done, nine weeks was a long time.

The funny thing with this rash was that is was self caused, by accident. I have a steroid cream that I use sometimes when the dry skin around 'my hoof' ankle bone gets bad. My doctor suspects that at some point after applying it, I touched my mouth area which brought about the rash. Then I made it worse because I thought this red bumpy and scaly rash was some type of dry skin so I actually put the steroid cream on it. This would work and it would be gone by the next day but would return a few days later. After that happened for a while I read the container of the steroid cream which said to use it twice a day for seven days - remember this was prescribed for my occasional eczema behind my ears and around my ankles. I decided to diligently follow the steroid instructions which worked; only for it to come back, with a vengeance, after I finished.

When I spoke to my doctor about it at the end of November she said that steroid cream really shouldn't be used on the face and that I needed to use antibiotics to get rid of it now. She could have given me a pill but because I was going to Africa and was needing some pills for that she thought it best if I used a gel antibiotic directly on it. She then said I was going to need to put it on twice a day for nine weeks, and that I wouldn't see improvements until about six weeks of treatment. This was disheartening because the treatment that was technically worsening it would totally clear it in a day.

There was a bit of concern with Africa because the antibiotics would make the area more sensitive to the sun, so I had to be careful to apply the gel early, wait a bit, and then apply lots of sunscreen to my chin so it wouldn't burn. This treatment wasn't a hassle at all, but it probably was the longest I have ever taken medicine for anything, besides the stuff that I take all the time. Glad it is over, but now I am in the habit of applying something to my face twice a day I think I will replace it with moisturizer, or anti-aging serum or something that is good for my skin.

Not Wanting To Offend

................... found online, Buzzfeed, I think

My Pickiness (from above): 
- In some cases: Blue Cheese and Liver
- If it has a head or thin/fine bones: Raw Fish and Cooked Fish

My Pickiness (not listed)
- Nothing TOO spicy

There are lots of items above that I don't really like - that I wouldn't order at a restaurant or cook with at home. However, hard to think that if I was visiting someone, and didn't want to offend them, what I wouldn't be able to just deal with and eat. The one that comes to mind is Liver, I really hate the taste of liver (and other organ meat) but in China I ended up eating it for breakfast a couple of times and got through it fine. Blue Cheese is really on a case by case bases, for example Blue Cheese Dressing is delicious, a hunk of Blue Cheese plain is uneatable.

Let me know in the comments, how picky are you?

My Blooming Green Thumb

My tree flowered!?! Quite a few years ago, I got a tropical tree from Jason's apartment building while he was moving out - it was sitting in a basement hallway with a sign that literally read Free Tree. I added it to my fairly extensive indoor plant collection. I am pretty good at keeping indoor (non-flowering) plants alive. 

A couple of days ago, Jason and I came home to a sickly sweet smell in the house, which we couldn't figure out until I noticed the tree had grown flowers! I couldn't believe it. Even though the smell was very gross, I was so impressed I didn't want to get ride of them. Finally I ended up cutting them off because we couldn't take the smell, but I am pretty proud of myself for getting a tree to make flowers.

Cleaner And Lighter

When we first purchased Casa Verde we did a lot of renovating in the basement:

- Demo

- Kitchen

- Bathroom

- Storage

- Main room

- Electrical box

We wanted to be able to rent the space out to help cover mortgage costs. Also, it was important to create a space that we were comfortable having someone live in - as you can see from the links above, it was very gross for the previous tenants.

One of the things we tried to do was reuse things, this was difficult because of the aforementioned grossness. We wanted to reuse all the doors but by the time we finished we had knocked down and moved so many walls that they didn't fit and it would be better to get new ones - except for the bathroom. We were able to put the original bathroom door back on. We kept it with the 'wood' look because it was easier and I wanted to have natural textures in the space.

We got a request a few months ago from our tenant to pant the door white. We still have leftover paint so it wasn't an issue, but it did take a long time to have a free weekend that was warm/dry enough to do it. So this was a little weekend project (spray painted the mirror, painted the door frame and door):

Small bathroom upgrade: Painting everything white

Basement Casa Verde

Before and After: July 2017

Tenant was right! It looks much better painted white to match the rest of the bathroom. It really brightened up the space making it feel lighter and more open. I was also able to touch up some scuffs and dirt on the walls too since it is all the same paint colour - which really cleans things up a lot. Even though it has only been a year, it makes me want to do touch ups elsewhere in the house too, there is so much wear and tear that seems to happen. It isn't that Jason and I are rough on the house but I think our walls dent easily (plaster) and the pale colours we have everywhere show grime.

Basement Before & After - Open Up!

Since the final completion photo of this Before and After features Two, I am posting it on Caturday.

I think this is my favourite Before and After comparison, opening up the living area in the basement at Casa Verde was one of our main goals. Originally, at the bottom of the stairs was a small table and thin hallway - the rest of the space was 'wall-ed' off for the utility room and laundry machines. There was then a door (which you can see someone walking through on the right-side of the top photo) into this dark cluttered central space:

Casa Verde Basement - North Brick Column

House Inspection to Final Completion

By taking out that door and moving the utility room wall WAY over we were able to completely open up the front (north) part of the basement and provide a small living area. The bathroom door frame stayed in through the entire demolition and re-build - we then put the same door back into the frame afterwards. (All other doors in the space were replaced.)

The brick column also didn't move, since it holds up the house! But we did clean it, seal it, and paint it. If you have a keen eye you can see the three new tiles that the contractor installed for us because we knocked down a wall that had previously been part of the bathroom. (Jason and I tried to find matching tiles but we didn't quite get them right.) Also, the floor that looks like hardwood is actually a vinyl sheet, everyone really likes it. We painted using the same colours as upstairs, the living area in the basement is the same as our master bedroom upstairs.

We are so happy with the space and this is one of the best picture to show the amazing transformation.

Basement Before & After - Bathroom SE

Casa Verde Basement - Bathroom Facing South-East

House Inspection to Final Completion

A Shitty Correlation

I read somewhere that a correlation has been discovered between taking your cell phone with you to the bathroom and getting sick more often. It makes sense. I am guilty of this on occasion, it can be an easy way to pass the time, I think taking your cell to the toilet is one of those things that some people  feel really strongly against and super grossed out by - and now we know that those people are healthier.

Business Cat

Great comic! The Adventures of Business Cat by Tom Fonder:

Go HERE to see a cute list of situations that are all too familiar to cat owners.

The Pacific Ocean

For most of the Californian Coast, the ocean itself has not been particularly accessible. The shoreline in the north has water that is too rough to swim in and cliffs that prevent you reaching the water anyway. Even the recent drive through Big Sur featured large cliffs with very infrequent access points to beaches or coves. When we visited Mendocino and walked in the cove, we could have dipped our feet in the water but chose to keep our shoes on since it was windy and a bit cold. However, this morning the weather is warmer and the Pacific is now on our level:

Our Morning View

All the rooms in our hotel look out to a beach and the local towns feature boardwalks to protect the small dunes. The waves can be heard at all times, but they are small and soft. The only problem with the swimming places is that seaweed seems to have a major presence on the sand and in the water. Big long pieces of kelp looking like plastic or rubber but somehow gross and natural. It didn't stop us though, Teri and I wanted to finally actually touch the ocean for the first time this trip:

Feet in the Pacific

It was worth the sand in our toes and wet pant cuffs. Teri is on the Right with blue toenail polish and I am at the top of the photo with purple. The waves did come up and touch me. I sprinted up and away from others that were too big.

Both photos above taken by ME with my phone

San Simeon, California, USA

Avery Is Not Impressed

I called Mom (who is out in Edmonton at the moment) and Aimee on Sunday to share the exciting news. (Mike was sleeping but he called later to complain about having to hear about Jason and my engagement second hand, through his wife and mother.) Aimee turned to Avery to let him know the news:

"Avery, your Aunty Chris just got engaged! Your getting another uncle. Aunty Chris and Jason are going to get married! Oh man, he has the weirdest face right now, if you could see this. He looks so confused. Avery, be happy. Be happy for Aunty Chris."

Luckily my mom took a photo at Avery's moment of confusion and sent it to me. He does not look impressed with Jason and my proposal weekend. It isn't really a look of confusion, more of disgust. This is not a baby that cares about weddings.

"Aunty Chris is getting married? Whatever Mom, who cares."

Avery Reacts To Aimee Telling Him My Good News

Photo by Mom, Edits by Me

Both Failing

Jason and I are opposites when it comes to the appearance of our apartment: he is tidy but dirty and I am clean but messy. This basically means that for the first year we were dating, and he was living in his old apartment, his bathroom was never cleaned and just got grosser and grosser (Shelves not dusted, floors not mopped, etc.) However, it would always look so much better than mine because everything would be neatly put away and in place. I, on the other hand, gladly leave a pile of half-dirty-will-wear-one-more-time clothes at the end of the bed. Since we eat at the dining room table or couch, the kitchen table becomes a nice collection of mail, beauty products, occasionally dry goods that I didn't bother to put in the cupboard etc. In fact, I recently emptied the contents of my purse and all the things that I wanted to keep (I threw the garbage out) is sitting in the living room on the ottoman, Two keeps lying on them.

For the most part we balance each other out - I keep everything clean and he keeps things tidy. However, with the new job I have had no time to get the house up to a standard that I feel is acceptable. This week it took me three days to clean the bathroom because I did it in little 10 minute stages in the morning (Mon: Sink, tub, toilet. Tues: Medicine cabinet, mirrors, and wash bathmat over night. Wed: Sweep and mop floors.) Jason on the other hand, is also busy with work and when he isn't has been playing a new video game with his friends for 2 - 5 hours nightly, and hasn't been as keen about hanging up towels, putting away clean dishes from the dish rack, making the bed, etc. So when both of us fail at what we are good at - basically Rrunuv Bayit is slowing starting to look like it is being lived in by squatters.

Unemployed - Undead

Zombie Me

Photo by Jeska

Edited using iPhone app

Catcalls

An interesting take on Caterday, I recently read a really good article (on Buzzfeed) about the reasons a catcall isn't a compliment.

"Catcalls are directives — Turn around! Come talk to me! Let me see that smile!— which assume at their most basic level an ownership of the woman being catcalled. These aren’t innocuous or playful requests; they are symptoms of entitlement, and messages that women don’t deserve control over their own bodies."

Written by Arianna Rebolini, you can read the full list/article HERE.

A Hunger Break From Lemony Snicket

I went out to see the second Hunger Games movie on Friday and it was amazing! So good in fact, that I decided to put my reading of the A Series of Unfortunate Events aside for a little while to read the Hunger Game books. The two series are both Young Adult (YA) novels and both incredibly written. Events is smart and funny, I have been savoring each book. Games is riveting, I flew through the first book in a day and a half. However, both cover rather depressing and/or morbid themes, even with that in the back of my mind I can't help but think of them all as these great treats of literature. I love YA, wait, correct that, I love WELL WRITTEN Young Adult novels. (And no I would not consider Twilight to be in that category.)

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!

More Than A Mayor

Over the past couple of weeks the world has been witness to, what I have found to be, a sad and frustrating political scandal. The Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, is a joke on the global stage. The recently released documents detailing his appalling behavior while in office, as well as, his recent behavior in City Council and in front of the press - disgusting.

However, yesterday, the Ontario Premier spoke on the issue and I found the end of her speech to be a nice light in what has been a very dark couple of weeks. I see truth in her calm, beautiful, and optimistic statement:

"Toronto is a great city in an amazing province. We have a proud history and a bright future. Toronto is greater than one politician or one government. Ontario is greater than one politician or one government. I understand that people are affected by what is happening at this moment. But I want the people of Toronto to know that we will not be defined by this." 
- November 14, 2013 - Kathleen Wynne - Primier of Ontario

The Birthday/Summer Cold

It is 5:20am on a Saturday morning. I am up. The cold medicine I took last night allowed for just over 4 hours of sleep. That respite took what was a sore throat and slight cough and compounded it. During my small amount of sleep, the green and yellow phlegm demons inside of me gathered and in their forced repression - increased. I awoke to a deeper, harsher cough and a runny nose. Now, as I lie on my back trying to will my stiff and sore mind and body back to sleep, everything gathers into a twisting ball of mush in my throat - it tastes disgusting. So I am awake, and not happy about it, and definitely dealing with a 'start of the summer cold' that arrived in time for the first long weekend.

Crazy Tree

----- from Facebook

Photo Courtesy of Pakistan the Only Choice

"This was taken in Pakistan after the floods and given the scale of damage the floods did; this photo is truly amazing. Here's the story that goes with it - The Spider Web consumed trees! An unexpected side-effect of the flooding in parts of Pakistan has been that millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising flood waters. Because of the scale of the flooding and the fact that the water has taken so long to recede, many trees have become cocooned in spiders webs. People in this part of Sindh have never seen this phenomenon before but, they also report that there are now far fewer mosquitoes than they would expect, given the amount of stagnant, standing water that is around. It is thought that the mosquitoes are getting caught in the spiders web, thus, reducing the risk of malaria, which would be one blessing for the people of Sindh, facing so many other hardships after the floods."

Terrifying

Last night I had a presentation in my seminar class. I realise as I get older that I like public speaking less and less. I used to love giving presentations and enjoyed the high of excitement I got right beforehand, similar to that experienced when acting right before going on stage. However, now I almost dread it because in my program at university we don't give many presentations so I am not very good at them. There are other majors where they are a big part of all the courses but with English you don't ever do any until fourth year, so I have fallen out of practice. I think the one last night went well, I won't know for sure until Tuesday when I get the mark back. It, and the 3 other presentations last night, focused on the concept of 'the grotesque' in art and literature. It isn't a really difficult theory to understand but like all theory they seem to make it way more complicated than needed. I won't get into the whole thing as it has to do with 'uncanny' and 'sublime' and other such annoying theory concepts and they are all terms that don't truly have agreed upon definitions. One of the elements of the grotesque, though arguably not a necessary aspect, is the combination of natural figures into an unnatural representation. It is speculated that the reason the bat is thought of as being a frightening creature, despite being rather harmless, is because it resembles both a bird and a mouse, which makes us uncomfortable. Theorists then go on to try to explain why we feel scared or uncomfortable with it, but I won't get into that right now. The whole concept totally hit home for me when I was reading a funny internet article and ran across the following picture. It completely connects with the grotesque and absolutely terrifies me. I can barely look at it! Don't really know why I'm putting it on my blog where I will be confronted with it regularly before it falls of the main page, but I think my reaction to it was really interesting. It makes me very uncomfortable.

REPTILIAN OBAMA