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.

A Very Toronto Commute

Sat beside a man with no teeth on the bus home today, who was fairly blatantly drinking from a can of Laker Ice. He had a rat on his knee. I had instinctively smiled and said, "Oh, so sweet" before I noticed that most people around him were some variation of annoyed/disgusted. It was really obviously a trained, loved, tame rat - truly very sweet - brown and white.

We chatted a bit about the rat, 5-months old and named Ruby. Then American cities (and their rat populations) and then somehow about hockey. Then had a really enjoyable conversation about The Leafs for the rest of the 20-minute ride home.

Despite the final score, he didn't think that they had played that badly during the game I saw in Boston and we both expressed frustration that the first penalty had been from too many players on the ice. We had different opinions on the new Las Vegas team, but acknowledged how well they are doing. It was one of the best hockey conversations I have had in a long time. He got off the bus a few stops before mine, with the rat tucked up behind his neck (she was snuggled there most of the ride actually).

I hope The Leafs make it to the second round of playoffs so I can keep talking hockey with strangers!

City Rhymes

Originally I was planning to pick Jason up at Weston Station after work so he could get home faster. However, we got a lot of snow today and my drive north from The Junction to Casa Verde was slow. I ended up sending him a text to let him know it wasn't a good idea for me to come get him, and my suggestion after that accidentally rhymed:

"Uber from The UP or take TTC."

One Year

Jason and I just finished celebrating our One Year Wedding Anniversary during a weekend trip to San Francisco. (But we haven't eaten the special piece of cake yet.)

Riding On A Bus

Muni - San Francisco

Sunday September 24, 2017

Riding On A Streetcar

TTC - Toronto

Saturday September 24, 2016

Photo by Stephanie Beach Photography

A little side note, the sailboat necklace that you can see me wearing in the top photo was a gift from Jason on our wedding day. The necklace that I wore on my actual wedding day, seen in the second photo, was borrowed from my mom and features my father's wedding ring.

Yes, This Describes It Well

Seen today on a chalkboard outside a convenience store near The Junction (technically a few streets away from the BIA). This really captures the neighbourhood:

Metropasses

Figet Spinners

Egg Whites

- SOLD HERE -

One Year In The Force

Jason has been at his new company for one year today. When I previously mentioned it, I didn't say where. Well, I think a year in it is okay to say that he is employed in downtown Toronto for Salesforce, a company that works with Customer Relationship Management (CRM.) It has been nice to commute part way with him, and he is very happy not be driving each day as his last job was in Markham and not very transit accessible. I hope he continues to enjoy his job and love his work.

Fluid

Fog over everyone's eyes
The silence of morning 

Droplets join streams, always flowing
Sway and flow, move as one

Each day we turn away from the stairs
Water must be carried up hill
Smoothly, quietly
Splitting apart to join others
I watched a woman disappear
Absorbed into the heat and crowd

Is it a monster? A beast to be sated
Drinking us, eating us
Symbiotic, parasitic
The smell and warmth of its stomach
The feel of being digested
Acid in my eyes

Or is a canal more fitting?
Man-made walls containing chaos
Water moving towards a goal
Guided by sharp walls and a dictated path
More gentle to be a puddle

--- C. Sweeton 2016

A Day Of Prep

Tomorrow is Rob and Andrea's wedding!! And, tonight I was asked to join in the Rehearsal events, both at the church and dinner afterwards. (Jason is Rob's Best Man.) Here is how I got ready, in my usual ADHD fashion is was scattered and done in stages. Note that between all these steps I would be off doing something else:

7:00am  - (At home) Had a bath
7:30am  - Put product into hair, then tied it up in a loose bun
7:35am  - Packed make-up and redid the stuff I keep in my purse
7:55am  - Put on red dress and black flats
8:50am  - (On Dufferin Bus) Take down hair from bun
9:05am  - (Bathroom breaks at work) Put clips in hair
11:30am - Put on pantyhose
12:55pm - Laura helps fix the clips in my hair
2:35pm  - Apply foundation and blush
3:50pm  - Put on eyeliner and mascara,
3:55pm  - Fix clips in my hair, again
4:05pm  - (On King Streetcar) Apply lipstick
4:45pm  - (In taxi) Switch flats for heels

Bad Habit, Good Habit

For almost over a week now I have been dealing with a cold. Between work, preparing/painting Casa Verde before moving in, and packing up Rrunuv Bayit - I am scared of burning out. I am being careful to get enough sleep every night and take cold medicine to keep myself functioning, however I feel pretty foggy from it all.

I have also gotten into a bad habit of getting a little bag of potato chips (Miss Vickie's Original) and a chocolate bar (Crunch) from the vending machine almost every weekday afternoon. I usually buy them on my way out the door to have on the bus during my evening commute. Or, if I am staying later than usual then I have it at my desk in the late afternoon. So unhealthy! But, I get so much comfort from it. Also, when I can't breath and everything tastes disgusting because of all the grossness from the cold, it is nice to actual enjoy eating something.

At least I am back to keeping up with my good habit of spinning, specifically going to the Top 40's class and staying overnight at Tessa's after. I missed last week because it was the worst day of my cold (the sore throat part was impervious to medication and hurt terribly.) It is going to be slow going having really cut back from spinning while I get ready to move but I need to keep it up and start attending more often again.

Not Fair!

This morning Mom and I decided to do another 'view' comparison after chatting for a bit on the phone. After we finished talking we each took a photo of what we have been looking at during the conversation. I like to call her in the morning while commuting to work, usually, when she is at The Cottage, this means that Mom is in bed hanging out with Rasta, or in the bath, or downstairs having coffee. However, she is in Spain for a couple of months so with the time change we are now talking around lunch time for her. 

See the small photo on the right for what my commute was like on the bus today - cold, wet, packed, but at least I had a seat. This is from my mom, she wins hands down:

Beach at El Rompido, Spain

February 10, 2016

Photo by Mom

Move Back On The TTC

Move to the back people! In buses and streetcars it is always more empty at the back. This isn't a new issue brought about by entitled millennials wanting to stand closer to the door, or busy yuppies with their briefcases and gym bags taking up aisle room, or even the recent influx of massive strollers blocking up the front sections - it is an age old issue. As this vintage TTC poster can attest to:

It just doesn't make sense to me. This morning there was a crowd of people in the bus I took along King St. to work (they have started to supplement the 504 Streetcar with buses). By the time I squeezed past all the people in the aisle and made it up the stairs to the back section there were tons of seats available. It should be a common etiquette rule that no one can stand in the main aisle until all the seats are taken and people have filled the aisle in the back section.That back section is just as good as the main one - just as many poles to hold on to, just as close to the rear door, just as wide. I don't get it. It is so frustrating.

Speaking of frustrating, I am not a huge fan of this sexist vintage ad from the TTC. Though I do enjoy it showing the men being really passive aggressive, and the kid crying (because that is another annoying thing that happens on public transit) though I feel like the girl is too old to be crying:

Back With Compression

I am sure that you have noticed that I have been away; besides my Stay Tuned post, I haven't written anything for Always Standing for the past two weeks. However, I am going to get back in gear and post at least everyday, hopefully more.

Let me start by explaining that nothing bad happened. Toronto is hosting the Pan Am Games and leading up to this event there was a lot of worry that rush hour commute times would increase greatly. Everyone who works in the city was asked to adjust their schedules to try to make traffic and transit better.

My office responded by moving into three weeks of compressed hours. We would close the office on Fridays, but would still need to work a minimum of 37.5 hours, on site, from Monday to Thursday. This would shift our commute times outside of the normal rush hour times.

Because I am trying to spin regularly with Tessa at Cykl, I am unable to stay late at the office most nights. Instead, this adjustment to our working times meant 6:30am starts. It has been very challenging to adjust to and not left me any time to blog. In fact it actually made me borderline ill. The exhaustion was pretty rough.

This is the last week and just as I am adjusting to the new schedule it is going to be returning to normal. It was quite nice to have the Friday off and I have enjoyed the 3-day weekends. However, the sleep deprivation and difficulties staying focused during extended work days have not really been worth it.

On Top Of The World

As I mentioned briefly in the previous post....

JASON AND I ARE ENGAGED!

We proposed to each other over the weekend, each taking a day to ask the other and plan something special. We both kept the actual asking part pretty low key - no rings (since I didn't want one), no big speeches (such a blur, I wouldn't have remembered what was said anyway), and no getting on one knee (though I was planning to do this, since Jason didn't Friday night, I decided not to on Saturday.)

Friday Night - Jason Asks

After picking me up at work, looking casual and carrying a backpack, Jason walked me over to the park beside Lamport Stadium. he stopped, stood in front of me, held me close, and asked, "Will you marry me?" to which I said, "Yes." It was happy, short, simple, and sweet. We then walked towards the King Streetcar with him asking if I had figured out what we were doing that night. I had no idea.

It wasn't until he mentioned that he was more scared of what was happening next than he was of proposing that I figured it out - we were going to go and do The Edge Walk at the CN Tower! (The backpack had my socks since I wasn't in the proper footwear.) It was a long process, with lots of safety checks, but an hour or so later we were over Toronto - walking outside, 1168 feet above the city. It was incredible. 

It was not an easy activity for Jason, who doesn't like heights, so afterwards he took us to The Fifth to have a fancy steak dinner and unwind. We ordered too much food, had amazing filet mignon, and enjoyed a quiet meal together.

Saturday - Christine Asks

Instead of 'asking,' I decided to plan a day of 'accepting' Jason's proposal (though I had said "Yes" right away the night before.) The alarm went off at 6:30am and once Jason was no longer squinting from the light, I asked him in the same simple way - if he would marry me, to which he also said yes. I then presented him with an envelope from the 'CSA' which instead of standing for Canadian Space Agency, meant Christine Sweeton Accepts.  

Along with a note was a cryptic itinerary for a day of astronaut-style training. It included activities like Fitness Test, Medical Exam, Orientation Video, etc. After I ran over to Tim Horton's to get Jason some Basic Nourishment, we set out on our day around Toronto. 

There was a lot of walking and use of the TTC, but we ended up giving blood together, seeing the Hubble IMAX at the Ontario Science Centre, trying out freeze-dried ice cream, visiting the Donald Dunlap Observatory for their open house evening, along with other outer space type activities. 

I also presented him with a watch during the Equipment Issuing. I had 'borrowed' the one I gave him for Christmas a couple of years ago that he never wears. I switched out the metal links that he didn't like since they pinched him, for a black leather band. I also had the back engraved with "From here to infinity."

Sunday - Jason and Christine Celebrate

The Edge Walk ticket included a second trip up the CN Tower anytime during the following three days. We took the opportunity to go up and see it from a more normal perspective yesterday evening. We grabbed dinner at the cafe on the observation level and visited the SkyPod which is another 33 stories in the air from where we had walked Friday night. It was a nice ending to an amazing weekend. 

I don't have the words to describe how incredible Jason is, but I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else. He makes me so happy. The future with him by my side looks exciting and fun.

Toronto Grammer

I pass a flower shop every morning on the bus and a sign on the window always makes me smile. There is some questionable grammar, but the line breaks amuse me more. On the front of Yen's Flower Shop:

DAILY FRESH CUT

FLOWERS POTTED

PLANTS GIFTS

WE DELIVERY

Normally I would be saddened that a sign company allowed incorrect verb tenses to go uncorrected, but it looks like the list is made by sticking letters on the window, not a sign created as a whole.

The shop also makes me smile because it reminds me of Yen, even though he spells it Yan and that is actually his last name and his real name is Zhe. Still, makes me miss him, now that he lives in Montreal we don't see each other very often.

Mom Is Home

My mom is back from her trip to Europe (France and Spain). I really missed her, it always feels like a long time. (This might be because it usually is a minimum of two months.) What was really nice this time was that we got into a bit of a routine talking in the mornings, which were her early afternoons. I would text that I was on the bus down to work and Mom would call me back.

In early March, one of our phone calls caught her during a walk. She sat down and talked for me a while. At one point she mentioned that the view was amazing and she would take a picture of it for me. She posted this on her blog:

With the caption: 

(Chris this is where I sat and talked to you on the phone for 20 minutes.)

I decided that I would also take a picture of my 'view' during our conversation:

It is really not the same at all:
Don't let the sunlight on the seat fool you
it was -15 Celsius!

A Poem For The Tower

My bus short-turned AGAIN this morning. However, it was still a nice commute today:

Peeking through the east-west streets of residential neighbourhoods - the CN Tower kept appearing in the hazy pick-orange morning light. Other skyscrapers seemed to dance in the dawning of the sun reminding me that, while the bus drives along a street of two-story brick houses - I live in a huge and busy city.

I kept thinking, "I see the tower, and the tower sees me, and ..." but then was unable to finish the thought. I knew that this came from a poem that I listened to in the car when I was growing up. It was a recording we had (on a cassette tape) called Alligator Pie. Aunty Laura had given it to me, and the poems and songs from it are a very treasured part of my childhood.

When I got to work today I looked and looked to find the next bit of that poem, I knew that it was actually about the moon. It turns out that, "I see the moon, the moon sees me" is a fairly popular phrase:

I See The Moon

Traditional Child's Lullaby

I see the moon, the moon sees me

shining through the leaves of the old oak tree

Oh, let the light that shines on me

shine on the one I love.

I See The Moon

Song: By Jim Brickman, 2002

I see the moon, the moon sees me 

The moon sees somebody I want to see 

So, God bless the moon and God bless me 

And God bless the 'Somebody' I want to see

But neither of these were right and it took a lot of searching to find it. In my various internet discoveries, was that the author of "The Moon," which is the poem that I know, is Canadian. In the back of my mind, I always knew that the Alligator Pie tape was somehow linked to Canada and Toronto;. It turns out the poet/author, is Dennis Lee and he is responsible for a number of amazing things: he has written a huge amount of children's poetry, did the lyrics for the Fraggle Rock theme song and other songs from that show, and was co-writer of the story for Labyrinth. He also wrote this poem, which is the one I had been looking for:

The Moon

By Dennis Lee, Garbage Delight, 1977

I see the moon

And the moon sees me

And nobody sees

As secretly

Unless there’s a kid

In Kalamazoo,

Or Mexico,

Or Timbuktu,

 Who looks in the sky

At the end of the day,

And she thinks of me

In a friendly way —

 ‘Cause we both lie still

And we watch the moon;

And we haven’t met yet,

But we might do, soon.

I think it is perfect. I wish I could have remembered it on the bus this morning, because the words are so fitting for the CN Tower. "I see the tower and the tower sees me, and nobody sees as secretly." I also saw the list of poems in the book, Alligator Pie, and remembered one called "Skyscraper" that is also a beautiful poem about the city:

Skyscraper

By Dennis Lee, Alligator Pie, 1974

Skyscraper, skyscraper, 

Scrape me some sky: 

Tickle the sun 

While the stars go by. 

Tickle the stars 

While the sun's climbing high, 

Then skyscraper, skyscraper, 

Scrape me some sky.

Another Monday

So today wasn't much better...

Woke up scared that I had forgotten about the time change.
(It is next week)

Forgot my coffee at home, again.
(Only seems to happen on Mondays)

My bus short-turned.

I Hate Short Turns

A Short Turn (from the TTC website) - When a vehicle is behind schedule, a decision is made by supervisory staff to make a service adjustment. Short turn means the vehicle will not continue to the end of the route but will be turned to travel in the opposite direction to balance service on the route.

When this happens the driver announces, "This bus will now short turn at Queen." or wherever the planned turn around point is. You usually have a few stops to decide what to do. Often I choose to walk the rest of the way, depending when the stop is. Other times, I wait with the huge group of angry people for the next bus (or streetcar, because it happens on them too.)

I swear this is only a thing for the TTC. I never experienced it in Ottawa, or any city that I have visited and used transit it. It also happens to me all the time, and it is so annoying!

Monday Morning

The Oscars ran late so I only got 5 hours of sleep.

I forgot my coffee at home on the counter.

Bus was slow which made me late to work.

Ran out of my ADD meds and I have no focus.

A Wonderful Toronto Weekend

I had an amazing time with Jason these past few days...

Friday Evening
- Appointment at L Studio to have my hair cut
- Three course Italian dinner at Caffino in Liberty Village
- Surprised with a night in The Ambulation Room at the Gladestone Art Hotel

Saturday
- Ran into Rob and Andrea during a walk on Queen St. West
- Got croissant sandwiches and other treats at Nadege Patisserie
- Had a picnic in Trinity-Bellwoods Park
- Bought some Succulents at West Elm
- Took the streetcar to MEC to buy lots of cycling stuff
- Came home and took a nap while Jason went for a bike ride
- Met up with Kristen and Noah to visit Taste of the Danforth

Sunday
- Slept in and watched TV
- Tried on my new Cycling Capris
- Went for a bike ride along the Beltline Trail with Jason
- Saw Guardians of the Galaxy with a big group of Jason`s friends
- Stopped for Menchie`s frozen yogurt on the way home