I was putting up pictures of my weekend with Ming on Flickr when I noticed that 2 of the pictures that Stefan took of us on the boardwalk were absolutely not usable. Both our eyes are closed on both shots. I mean, isn't previewing a picture the whole point of digital cameras?
The weekend went far too quickly for my taste. Ming and I had a really good time hanging out with one another. Although I am sure when she returns home and when people ask what Toronto is like, I'm afraid she won't really be able to say much about since I only had time to give her a drive by tour. That, and we were yakking our heads off trying to cramp all that we've left unsaid for the past 16 years.
It's funny because everyone here, including me, was a little curious how we would react to one another after such a long time. It was just easy and fun. I guess the essence of oneself never really changes. We change with our experiences but who we are fundamentally doesn't. And Ming confirmed it. I am still the same loony bird as I was when I was little. She reminded me of all these ridiculous scrapes I used to get myself into. I've always wondered what it would have been like if I had stayed in Asia. Ming said it was the best thing for me to move here since I am and have always been such a free spirit and I would have probably felt a little repressed.
I am glad that she was so open to everything. I took her to all my favourite spots in the city and on Saturday night, she got to meet some of my friends. On Sunday, since she was missing some home cooking, we started off our day at Chez Mama Kang. Big up to Mama Kang who always feeds all my hungry friends!
We ended up walking around. That, in itself was astonishing because Mr. "Boys Don't Go On Random Walks. We Need A Purpose And A Place To Walk" Stefan joined us as well. It was really fun, for Ming and I anyway. Stefan was just our chauffeur.
This week Ming is working in the middle of nowhere and since I am carless, I can't really visit. That, and she's probably busy actually doing the work that they sent her here for. Still. I feel a little cheated out of time with her.
She suggested that Stefan and I move to Singapore for a couple of years before we think about popping out kids, since we talk about wanting to explore that part of the world more. I actually looked into it online but then Stefan mentioned the fact that Mindy would be bereft without her uber nice vet and her organic treats. Then when I researched the legalities of even bringing her there and the minimum requirement for quarantine is 30 days. And visiting hours during those 30 days are limited. That sealed the deal for us.
We'll just have to plan a nice long visit.
I've been waiting for this weekend for a long time. A childhood friend from Asia is coming to visit for the weekend. Ming and I have known each other since grade 4 and have miraculously kept in touch through handwritten letters for the entire 16 years since I left. Doesn't that boggle the mind that we still keep that up?
I've always found myself in limbo sometimes, having moved here when I was 12. So many of my friends here have a long history with many of their friends, whereas my friends here only know me as an adult. At the same time, my friends back home only have memories of me as a child. It's nice when there is the connection of both past and future.
The last time I saw Ming was about three years ago and it was a very brief time because I had gotten a horrible reaction to Singaporean strong coffee. It'll be so nice to have her for two whole days and to show her a glimpse of my life here in Toronto.
Early during the week while I was doing a pilates tape, I noticed something that I had not noticed before. Could it....could it be? Yes, it was. The first few dimples on my right buttock cheek. I didn't bother looking at my left but I am sure it's there as well. Cellulite has finally decided to grace my ass.
I am not sure when exactly that I got it since looking at my butt is not really a daily activity, but to be honest I was a little curious as some girls mentioned theirs during the cottage weekend so I decided to check. And there it was.
I pullled down Stef's pants as soon as he got into his lounging bottoms to see whether he had any and he didn't. Drat! It seems boys don't get it as often as girls, especially athletic boys. How unfair!
It's been nothing but rain for about a week and I am about to go stark raving mad.
Marie, who lives in Vancouver likes to make fun about Torontonians when it comes to rain. She likes to say that we are afraid of the rain. I don't think that we are afraid. We just have less tolerance for it than Vancouverites do.
The good thing about this weather is that I am behind on my paperwork, (as usual!) so nothing like a little Ipoding and random surfing to help pass the time. The thing I hate though is the darkness. I've been trying to work on my Summer masthead and it's hard to feel inspired when it's gloomy outside.
I had such a fabulous weekend, celebrating Sylvia's stagette up at a girlfriend's cottage. Twelve girls gathered, ate, laughed, drank, ate amazing food and had a fabulous time.
Since I personally did not have the best of female friendships in my high school years, I was so blown away by all of Sylvia's girlfriends, many of whom have known her since her teens. Each person was so individual, interesting and unique in their own right. It's a wonderful testament to everyone involved that such friendships have sustained and flourished.
As far as staggettes go, this was by far the best one I've attended so far. There were no cheesy strippers - THANK GOD! I really hate those. There were walks through the wood, dress fittings, fun games and a dress up disco night. Everyone kept on saying how good and varied the food was and if we were boys, the only food available would have been meat and potatoes.
Sylvia, who is an amazing designer is making all of her bridemaid dresses and she brought them up for fittings. It was so amazing to see the process and she definitely made dresses that everyone will be able to wear again. I can't wait to see everyone at the wedding.
Not that we're really looking, but I like to know what's out there on the market. So every so often, I troll onto the online real estate listings to see what is out there in my world. This is usually what happens.
Me: God! Don't people watch "Sell This House"? At least wash your dishes before letting the real estate guy take pictures!
Me: Hmmm....that's what they call a backyard? It's a vegetable patch!
Me: Why do people need 5 bathrooms and only 3 bedrooms? How does that work?
Me: ooooo....This is a possibility. We would have to fix the kitchen and and bathrooms though, so eighties.... but it'll be a good fixer upper.
Stefan: Karen! Are you not looking at prices again? For $2.8 million, we shouldn't have to fix anything!
OOOPSIES!
That's the gist of the real estate woes that we've been experiencing in Toronto for the past 5 years. With the city expanding so quickly, real estate has just sky rocketed so unless you're willing to do major renovations or live in the suburbs, it's not possible to find a decent small starter home for under $500,000.
We sometimes contemplate living in the suburbs but we really don't think we could do it. If we're going to live in a city, we have to live in the city. We contemplate doing renos like what many of our friends are doing, but I remember just putting the two walls up in our loft and what a pain it was. We're not very handy. Sure, we can build walls but being able to do the plumping, concrete pouring, and wiring? Not a clue. What I want to know is how our friends, who are all mostly young professionals learnt how to do all that? Was there some memo to take classes that we missed?
Our requirements seem simple - an older house with interesting architectural details, some garden space and accessible to the downtown core. I think we'd have better luck winning the lottery. I know at some point, we're going to have to compromise our wants and needs for a home, if we want to live here.
Right now, my ideal home is this -
A converted, 12th century fort in Italy. Stefan says it'll be hard considering we don't speak Italian and have no idea of what we would do for work but I say, if you're gonna dream, you gotta dream big....
So here's to dreams. Happy Friday!
This is what happens when you do too much random surfing when you really should be doing other important things, like washing the dishes. This idea was from Carly and the help of Wikipedia.
October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 91 days remaining.
A few important events that have happened on this date -
965 - John XIII becomes Pope
1869 - Austria issues the world's first postcards
1949 - The People's Republic of China is declared by Mao Zedong
1964 - The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of University of California, Berkeley
1971 - Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida
Other people born on this date -
1207 - Henry VIII (aka as the first royal male slut)
1910 - Bonnie Parker (one half of Bonnie and Clyde - oh yeah!)
1935 - Julie Andrews (...doe a deer...)
1976 - Dora Ventner (a porn actress - cool!)
Holidays or observances celebrated on this date-
World Vegetarian Day
National Day for the People's Republic Of China
Independence Days for Nigeria, Cyprus andTuvalu
I looked up Stef's birthday and thought that this was hilarious. Only two holidays and observances are celebrated on January 18th -
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins
Sex and Pornography Day in Chile
Guess Chileans don't think Christian unity is as important as getting your freak on.
I know, I've been so quiet lately. I haven't been inspired to write lately because I've actually been feeling a little off. You know when you feel like you're coming down with something, and then you don't but you actually don't feel yourself? That's how I've been feeling for the past two weeks and really I just wish I would get a big, bad cold and get it over with instead of having this niggling feeling of sickness hanging over me.
So, here is a small catch up on what's been on my mind -
Lovely Lisa is back online! I've really missed her thoughts, drawings and pictures these past few weeks.
Maria and Abigail have been travelling and there is something that I simply love about photos taken from the plane. It's got me thinking that I haven't been on a trip since our wedding-moon and I am simply itching to get on a plane.
I've gotten some lovely things in the mail - My CD swap by Carly and a random box from my original box-buddy Marie! Stefan doesn't know why Marie and I are so obsessed with totes. It's because they carry lots of goodies!
Meredith needs to get over McDreamy since Chris O'Donnell is WAY hotter. Is it me or is she looking skinnier than ever? I don't like it.
I sometimes forget that Toronto is really such an awesome city. Last weekend, we drove around High Park, a wilder, untamed version of Central Park in NY and re-found the mini zoo. I also took lots of pictures of trees, a mild obsession that I have. You can view the rest of them here.
Mindy is finally eating raw food without any of her canned food! Yippee! Still no weight loss but I am happy. Now if only she could stop running away when I am trying to brush her teeth.
We have really large windows in our loft and since I am loathe to take away the wonderful light they bring in, we have very sheer drapes. So often, I usually pull the covers over my head as soon as the light hits.
A couple of days ago, I woke up, full body under covers and realized that I absolutely couldn't breathe. My heart racing, I thought that my constant eating and non-exercising had finally caught up to me and I was having some form of heart attack. All of a sudden I felt something move and a paw swiped at the cover over my face. One green eye met one brown eye and freaked us both out.
Turns out, Mindy thought I was part of the unmade bed and had decided to take her morning slumber on my chest, something that she has never done. It's also safe to say that there hasn't been any noticable difference in her (my) quest for weight loss.