In Washington, DC (and in Japan), it's cherry blossom time. The time of the year when these delicate pink buds bloom in abundance on trees, perched on their branches like a billion snowflakes ready to descend upon the skies. (Snowflakes isn't such a strange thought three weeks into spring. Since Wednesday evening it has been snowing. Not very much, but a fitful of flurries periodically and just enough to coat the grass with a thin veneer of powdery white sugar.)
This year's Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington is extra special because it marks the 95th anniversary of the gift of 3000 cherry trees from the people of Tokyo to the people of Washington, DC.
How amazing it would be to stand beneath these trees and look up into the sky at them! What a beautiful feat of nature!
Labels: Life
The Organized Girl's Guide to Finances
0 Comments Published by Alexandria on Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 3:49 p.m..
So, I've been reading my Home Girl book about buying a house on my own. As expected, a lot of it is devoted to finances, which has inspired me to get my own finances organized as I prepare to get pre-approved for a mortgage. (Yikes!) I figured that it wouldn't help me if I showed up at the bank or to meet the mortgage broker with my assorted papers falling out of a file folder in a chaotic mess.
So, with my trusty label maker (an organized girl's best friend!), I went to work on a file folder rack that I bought.
In less than half an hour my finances were in order, labelled into various files related to work contracts and pay stubs, bank statements, RRSPs and other investment statements, taxes and all documents related to my car and insurance.
Tell me which bank wouldn't loan a girl like me money for her own home?!
So, with my trusty label maker (an organized girl's best friend!), I went to work on a file folder rack that I bought.
In less than half an hour my finances were in order, labelled into various files related to work contracts and pay stubs, bank statements, RRSPs and other investment statements, taxes and all documents related to my car and insurance.
Tell me which bank wouldn't loan a girl like me money for her own home?!
Labels: Life
To start this story, I need to go back about two weeks. When I was talking to my group of immediate friends, two of whom had recently joined Facebook, where they had become acquainted with a host of former classmates from elementary school, middle school, highschool and their respective universities (all six of us went to different universities). They were both chatting away about all the interesting stuff they had learned about our mutual common classmates, marvelling especially about all the people who had gone away, had amazing adventures then come back to our hometown. The two of them kept insisting that the other two in the group (me being one of them) also join so that we, too could catch up with these classmates. I kept resisting, saying that between The Royal Realm, this blog and my usual website readings, I had enough of the internet on my plate.
And then last week, while talking to some co-workers, Facebook came up in the conversation. Apparently all of them had joined, too -- even the most unexpected member of the team had a Facebook account. Despite the comment, "C'mon Alex, all the cool kids are on it," I resisted.
But fate has a way of working its magic ... When I went back to my desk, what should I find in my inbox, but an invitation from a university classmate to join Facebook! So I did because at that point people from three different groups in my life had brought it up in the span of a week.
And so last Wednesday the Facebook addiction came to me. The people that cropped up seemingly out of thin air and wanted to be my friend. The people whom I found while exploring other people's pages and wanted to be their friends. I couldn't believe how many people still live in our city, all within a 15-25 km radius of me, yet I never see any of them around while out and about.
It was exciting and fun to catch up with many of them. Even this guy who had a big crush on me in highschool but I was too busy chasing a tall, dark haired guy with a motorcycle to notice him. The guy who had the crush on me is now dating someone serious but we've had some good chats on my "wall."
The one thing that surprises me each and everytime I discover someone new that I went to school with is how many of them are married and have kids now. Some of them even have two kids! And the girls from highschool whom, had I been asked back then if they would be married now, I would've said "Heck, no!" are married. And as far as I can tell happily so. Some of these classmates are even married to each other.
Reading people's stories, their lives are much more exciting than mine! They are going out through the work week (okay, this makes me sound very, very lame!) and having drinks and partying. They have travelled extensively around the world -- with pictures of themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Mayan ruins, Big Ben, the jungles of Kenya, South Korea and Japan, and a million other places with dreams of more places to go to. Meanwhile, I've been stuck here in Mississauga, taking the GO train back and forth to the Big Smoke ... It makes me wonder if life is passing me by and if I shouldn't be doing more with my life. If I should put my plans to buy a house on hold and take that money and go travelling instead. If I should get out there on a Tuesday evening and have a pint and hit the dance floor instead of crawling into my pyjamas and reaching for the remote control ... I want to have stories and pictures to share on my Facebook page, too. I want stories to remember when I am 80 and rocking myself to sleep in a chair staring out at the stars ...
And then last week, while talking to some co-workers, Facebook came up in the conversation. Apparently all of them had joined, too -- even the most unexpected member of the team had a Facebook account. Despite the comment, "C'mon Alex, all the cool kids are on it," I resisted.
But fate has a way of working its magic ... When I went back to my desk, what should I find in my inbox, but an invitation from a university classmate to join Facebook! So I did because at that point people from three different groups in my life had brought it up in the span of a week.
And so last Wednesday the Facebook addiction came to me. The people that cropped up seemingly out of thin air and wanted to be my friend. The people whom I found while exploring other people's pages and wanted to be their friends. I couldn't believe how many people still live in our city, all within a 15-25 km radius of me, yet I never see any of them around while out and about.
It was exciting and fun to catch up with many of them. Even this guy who had a big crush on me in highschool but I was too busy chasing a tall, dark haired guy with a motorcycle to notice him. The guy who had the crush on me is now dating someone serious but we've had some good chats on my "wall."
The one thing that surprises me each and everytime I discover someone new that I went to school with is how many of them are married and have kids now. Some of them even have two kids! And the girls from highschool whom, had I been asked back then if they would be married now, I would've said "Heck, no!" are married. And as far as I can tell happily so. Some of these classmates are even married to each other.
Reading people's stories, their lives are much more exciting than mine! They are going out through the work week (okay, this makes me sound very, very lame!) and having drinks and partying. They have travelled extensively around the world -- with pictures of themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Mayan ruins, Big Ben, the jungles of Kenya, South Korea and Japan, and a million other places with dreams of more places to go to. Meanwhile, I've been stuck here in Mississauga, taking the GO train back and forth to the Big Smoke ... It makes me wonder if life is passing me by and if I shouldn't be doing more with my life. If I should put my plans to buy a house on hold and take that money and go travelling instead. If I should get out there on a Tuesday evening and have a pint and hit the dance floor instead of crawling into my pyjamas and reaching for the remote control ... I want to have stories and pictures to share on my Facebook page, too. I want stories to remember when I am 80 and rocking myself to sleep in a chair staring out at the stars ...
Labels: Life
Yesterday I went on a bit of a shopping spree. I don't quite know what inspired it all as I have been good with controlling the shopping -- what with saving for a down payment and worrying about mortgage payments and all. But yesterday I set out for the mall to exchange a T-shirt for one of my cousins as the one shirt I got her for her upcoming birthday was rather see through. And of course, as inevitable, you set out to the mall to go to one store and on the way to that store you end up in another store and buy something else altogether!
So I set out for two tasks at the mall: To exchange Stephanie's T-shirt and to take my black boots to the shoe repair place and have them fix my heel. Simple enough, right?
So within the first 10 minutes at the mall I got my boots fixed. Sticking to the plan so far, good for me ...
Next 10 minutes at the mall, with some hassle at the store, I am able to exchange Stephanie's top. A+ for Alex so far ...
Then this is where I get way warded ...
I had been eyeing a jean jacket in a store for a while. They were running a 'Buy one, get the second at half off' sale for a few weeks. I had been to the mall by work at lunchtime and had tried the jacket on and it looked nice on me. But I had had trouble finding a second item to get at half off. So because I had done so well with my morning tasks, I decided that I could just get the jean jacket and not a second item since there wasn't much else that I liked in the store anyway. That way I would actually be saving myself money, right? So off I go to the store, which of course, is on the opposite end of the mall. As I'm walking to the store with the jean jacket, I passed by this store that is really meant for teenage girls with skinny ninny bodies. But they had these cute oversized tank tops with cute patterns that caught my eye. Up close the shirts were cute but not quite me. On my way out the store this rack of jackets caught my eye, especially this cute little cream and beige tweed number. And then I saw the sign: $19.50. How could I go wrong with a jacket for $19.50? It couldn't hurt to try at least, right? So I found one in my size -- unfortunately I had to go up to a medium which was a bit of a blow to the self-esteem since I'm used to fitting into a small or extra small, but considering that the store was for girls who regularly wear a size minus 2, I felt okay. The jacket looked ever so cute and preppy on me, and I have a pair of beige pants that would go so well with it, so it's not as if I would need to buy pants, too right ...
Then at the store with the jean jacket I found a lacy camisole that would go perfect underneath it, and even though it wasn't on sale and nearly as expensive as the jacket at $18, I bought it, too.
Then, at the grocery store -- which is actually a super store which carries clothes, furniture, books, housewares, electronics, has a pharmacy, a photoshop, a wine shop, a dry cleaner and an opticians in it -- I found some fresh apple green vases. It was so spring and it matched with my colour scheme and it was on sale that I just couldn't pass them up.
So, three hours later and $150 later, my purchases:
And on Wednesday, I found a perfect little T-shirt for Hayden:
His dad is a helicopter pilot/mechanic and it's shockingly hard, nearly impossible to find things with helicopters on them. I know because I tried really hard for his baby shower and for his welcome to the world gift.
So I set out for two tasks at the mall: To exchange Stephanie's T-shirt and to take my black boots to the shoe repair place and have them fix my heel. Simple enough, right?
So within the first 10 minutes at the mall I got my boots fixed. Sticking to the plan so far, good for me ...
Next 10 minutes at the mall, with some hassle at the store, I am able to exchange Stephanie's top. A+ for Alex so far ...
Then this is where I get way warded ...
I had been eyeing a jean jacket in a store for a while. They were running a 'Buy one, get the second at half off' sale for a few weeks. I had been to the mall by work at lunchtime and had tried the jacket on and it looked nice on me. But I had had trouble finding a second item to get at half off. So because I had done so well with my morning tasks, I decided that I could just get the jean jacket and not a second item since there wasn't much else that I liked in the store anyway. That way I would actually be saving myself money, right? So off I go to the store, which of course, is on the opposite end of the mall. As I'm walking to the store with the jean jacket, I passed by this store that is really meant for teenage girls with skinny ninny bodies. But they had these cute oversized tank tops with cute patterns that caught my eye. Up close the shirts were cute but not quite me. On my way out the store this rack of jackets caught my eye, especially this cute little cream and beige tweed number. And then I saw the sign: $19.50. How could I go wrong with a jacket for $19.50? It couldn't hurt to try at least, right? So I found one in my size -- unfortunately I had to go up to a medium which was a bit of a blow to the self-esteem since I'm used to fitting into a small or extra small, but considering that the store was for girls who regularly wear a size minus 2, I felt okay. The jacket looked ever so cute and preppy on me, and I have a pair of beige pants that would go so well with it, so it's not as if I would need to buy pants, too right ...
Then at the store with the jean jacket I found a lacy camisole that would go perfect underneath it, and even though it wasn't on sale and nearly as expensive as the jacket at $18, I bought it, too.
Then, at the grocery store -- which is actually a super store which carries clothes, furniture, books, housewares, electronics, has a pharmacy, a photoshop, a wine shop, a dry cleaner and an opticians in it -- I found some fresh apple green vases. It was so spring and it matched with my colour scheme and it was on sale that I just couldn't pass them up.
So, three hours later and $150 later, my purchases:
And on Wednesday, I found a perfect little T-shirt for Hayden:
His dad is a helicopter pilot/mechanic and it's shockingly hard, nearly impossible to find things with helicopters on them. I know because I tried really hard for his baby shower and for his welcome to the world gift.
Labels: Life
I've always been a believer of fate. That somehow there are signs in the world that will guide you as you make decisions in your life or help lead you to people you need to meet or get to know. Or that events bring people together, people who will change your life in some way or introduce you to people who will.
Fate can linger in anything and everything. The smallest and most mundane of things, like a billboard advertising a lunch special just as your stomach growls, or directly in people who tell you about jobs in the field you want to pursue.
On Tuesday, fate came in an e-mail. I shop occasionally from Chapters Indigo (the Canadian equivalent of Amazon), and occasionally I receive e-mails with special or recommendations. In Tuesday's e-mail there was a recommendation for a book called Home Girl: The Single Woman's Guide to Buying Real Estate in Canada by Brenda Bouw. It's as if Chapters knew that I had started house hunting up again and that I was actively pursuing it and that this book could help me navigate the waters or buying a home.
The book description:
Statistics show that Canadian women now outnumber men in buying a house or condo. Women see the value in owning property. They are no longer waiting for, or expecting, a “Mr. Right” to come along before taking one of the key financial steps of their lives. Such is the case with the author of Home Girls: The Single Woman’s Guide to Buying Real Estate in Canada
If this doesn't scream "Alex at this present moment in time" then I don't know what does!
I came home yesterday and found my Amazon order in my mail. Guess what I'll be reading (and probably highlighting and making notes from) over the next few days?!
Fate can linger in anything and everything. The smallest and most mundane of things, like a billboard advertising a lunch special just as your stomach growls, or directly in people who tell you about jobs in the field you want to pursue.
On Tuesday, fate came in an e-mail. I shop occasionally from Chapters Indigo (the Canadian equivalent of Amazon), and occasionally I receive e-mails with special or recommendations. In Tuesday's e-mail there was a recommendation for a book called Home Girl: The Single Woman's Guide to Buying Real Estate in Canada by Brenda Bouw. It's as if Chapters knew that I had started house hunting up again and that I was actively pursuing it and that this book could help me navigate the waters or buying a home.
The book description:
Statistics show that Canadian women now outnumber men in buying a house or condo. Women see the value in owning property. They are no longer waiting for, or expecting, a “Mr. Right” to come along before taking one of the key financial steps of their lives. Such is the case with the author of Home Girls: The Single Woman’s Guide to Buying Real Estate in Canada
Brenda Bouw’s own experiences in buying and selling real estate, and those of other single women she interviewed for the book—as well as insights from real estate professionals—are built into this informative and entertaining guide. If you are looking at buying a first property, you’ll find out about the pitfalls you need to avoid and the necessary steps you must take to make that purchase a success story. If you already own real estate, you might be interested in renovating your house, buying an investment property or even becoming a landlord. Here are some of the key concepts:
- How to tell if you’re ready to own your own home
- What to look for in a house
- The role of a real estate agent
- The offer, the deal, the closing and the aftermath
- The dozens of little expenses that you might not be aware of before it’s time to pay for them
- What renovations to tackle yourself, and when it’s time to call a pro
- How to become a landlord—and if you really want to be one
If this doesn't scream "Alex at this present moment in time" then I don't know what does!
I came home yesterday and found my Amazon order in my mail. Guess what I'll be reading (and probably highlighting and making notes from) over the next few days?!
This past Sunday was daylight savings time here. This year it came a few weeks earlier to turn the clocks ahead one hour.
I didn't quite notice the one hour loss as my back hurt on Saturday night and I took some medication that makes me drowsy so I was in bed pretty early and slept through till the morning, but this morning at work it finally hit me. I was so tired that while walking through the PATH (the underground walkway that has shopping and restaurants and keeps you warm and dry during cold or rainy days) I didn't even have the energy to peruse the magazine stores or the clothing shops, which I usually enjoy. Which meant that I got to my office earlier than usual. The first thing I did was to crack open a can of Coke Zero at 8:38 in the morning.
Most days a tall cup of coffee and my morning dose of royal news is good enough to get me going, but some days I'm so tired that I need both caffeine and sugar. Today was one of those days.
The one upside of daylight saving time has been that it's still light out by the time I get home and have had dinner. Monday and Tuesday especially when the weather was very mild and it was sunny outside, I felt renewed and energized. Today it's still very mild (14 degrees celcius!) but it's grey and rainy outside. By Friday we'll be back to seasonal temperatures with a chance of snow flurries.
With the hint of spring these past two days I'm excited for the warmer weather to come. I sent out my first Easter gift to a friend overseas and I had so much fun looking at the pretty pastel-coloured chocolates and the sunny Easter cards with bunnies and chicks on them. I even tried on some spring clothes afterwards. I can't wait to shed my sweaters and my heavy wool and cashmere winter jackets, my scarves and my hats and mittens. I have beautiful brightly coloured scarves to wear for spring and looking through my wardrobe the other day, I have fun tops for summer that I can't wait to wear again.
Come on spring!
I didn't quite notice the one hour loss as my back hurt on Saturday night and I took some medication that makes me drowsy so I was in bed pretty early and slept through till the morning, but this morning at work it finally hit me. I was so tired that while walking through the PATH (the underground walkway that has shopping and restaurants and keeps you warm and dry during cold or rainy days) I didn't even have the energy to peruse the magazine stores or the clothing shops, which I usually enjoy. Which meant that I got to my office earlier than usual. The first thing I did was to crack open a can of Coke Zero at 8:38 in the morning.
Most days a tall cup of coffee and my morning dose of royal news is good enough to get me going, but some days I'm so tired that I need both caffeine and sugar. Today was one of those days.
The one upside of daylight saving time has been that it's still light out by the time I get home and have had dinner. Monday and Tuesday especially when the weather was very mild and it was sunny outside, I felt renewed and energized. Today it's still very mild (14 degrees celcius!) but it's grey and rainy outside. By Friday we'll be back to seasonal temperatures with a chance of snow flurries.
With the hint of spring these past two days I'm excited for the warmer weather to come. I sent out my first Easter gift to a friend overseas and I had so much fun looking at the pretty pastel-coloured chocolates and the sunny Easter cards with bunnies and chicks on them. I even tried on some spring clothes afterwards. I can't wait to shed my sweaters and my heavy wool and cashmere winter jackets, my scarves and my hats and mittens. I have beautiful brightly coloured scarves to wear for spring and looking through my wardrobe the other day, I have fun tops for summer that I can't wait to wear again.
Come on spring!
So this is the story of my lost lunch.
This afternoon, around 12:30 p.m. I went to one of our mini kitchens to get my lunch. It was actually my lunch from Monday but as I wasn't feeling well on Monday, I didn't eat it. But today I was feeling better and looking forward to even two-day old vegetable lasagna. When I got to the fridge, I couldn't find my lasagna. I turned the fridge inside out looking for my little blue tupperware container. I pulled out bags and bottles, I even opened up plastic grocery bags and peeked inside to see if perhaps my tupperware container had been mistakenly put in one of the bags. No tupperware with lasagna in it. So I proceeded to go to the big kitchen upstairs, thinking that perhaps someone mistakenly carried it up there. I searched both of the big fridges. No lasagna. I then went back downstairs and to the other side of the office to look at the other mini fridge. No lasagna.
I went over to a couple of co-workers to tell them about my missing lunch. I wasn't really upset or angry. I was just so shocked by someone's gumption to eat someone else's lunch. In my two years at that office that had never happened to me before. My three co-workers got riled up on my behalf though. One of them suggested that I walk around the office to see who was eating lasagna for lunch and say "J'accuse" when I caught them red handed. When I refused to, the other two volunteered to do it for me. Then came the silly suggestions: Take a picture of lasagna (from the internet) and turn it into a "WANTED" poster or have our receptionist send out a mass e-mail asking for my lunch back. Then my friends (bless them for humouring me about all of this!) created a "profile" of the lunchtime bandit: It must be a forgetful guy who didn't pack his lunch because someone else did, like a girlfriend or a wife, so he didn't know what he brought and just picked up a tupperware container that looked like his. And even though it was vegetable lasagna, it must have been a carnivore because unless you really inspected the food you wouldn't know that it didn't have meat in it and a vegetarian wouldn't take such a chance. (Apparently my friends are like me and have very wild imaginations!)
I jokingly said that my family wasn't having a good time of late: My parents lost their car and I lost a lunch. He asked me if I had insurance on my lunch to protect future theft.
So another co-worker braved the freezing cold with me (it was our coldest day of the season yet at minus 35 degrees) to go outside to get me a lunch. We walked down the street (about two blocks from our office) for a sandwich and a coffee.
Flash forward to around 2:30 p.m. I went back to the same mini kitchen to wash my coffee mug. There was another editor in there heating up a late lunch. We started talking about how much packaging is part of take out food around the office and whether take out lunches which came in styrofoam was better or if plastic was better. Then on a whim, I opened up the fridge door. I didn't really think about it. I wasn't really expecting to find anything in particular. But what was there on the bottom shelf? A blue tupperware container with vegetable lasagna in it!
I swear that it was not there when I first went looking for it. Someone must have taken it, realized that it wasn't theirs and brought it back to the fridge but by then I had already gotten a new lunch.
I burst out into laughter when I saw my lunch. The other editor must have thought I was nuts because I offered no explanation as to why I was laughing.
My co-workers fell out of their chairs laughing at me when I told them. At least I have a funny office story now. One of many to add to my repertoire!
This afternoon, around 12:30 p.m. I went to one of our mini kitchens to get my lunch. It was actually my lunch from Monday but as I wasn't feeling well on Monday, I didn't eat it. But today I was feeling better and looking forward to even two-day old vegetable lasagna. When I got to the fridge, I couldn't find my lasagna. I turned the fridge inside out looking for my little blue tupperware container. I pulled out bags and bottles, I even opened up plastic grocery bags and peeked inside to see if perhaps my tupperware container had been mistakenly put in one of the bags. No tupperware with lasagna in it. So I proceeded to go to the big kitchen upstairs, thinking that perhaps someone mistakenly carried it up there. I searched both of the big fridges. No lasagna. I then went back downstairs and to the other side of the office to look at the other mini fridge. No lasagna.
I went over to a couple of co-workers to tell them about my missing lunch. I wasn't really upset or angry. I was just so shocked by someone's gumption to eat someone else's lunch. In my two years at that office that had never happened to me before. My three co-workers got riled up on my behalf though. One of them suggested that I walk around the office to see who was eating lasagna for lunch and say "J'accuse" when I caught them red handed. When I refused to, the other two volunteered to do it for me. Then came the silly suggestions: Take a picture of lasagna (from the internet) and turn it into a "WANTED" poster or have our receptionist send out a mass e-mail asking for my lunch back. Then my friends (bless them for humouring me about all of this!) created a "profile" of the lunchtime bandit: It must be a forgetful guy who didn't pack his lunch because someone else did, like a girlfriend or a wife, so he didn't know what he brought and just picked up a tupperware container that looked like his. And even though it was vegetable lasagna, it must have been a carnivore because unless you really inspected the food you wouldn't know that it didn't have meat in it and a vegetarian wouldn't take such a chance. (Apparently my friends are like me and have very wild imaginations!)
I jokingly said that my family wasn't having a good time of late: My parents lost their car and I lost a lunch. He asked me if I had insurance on my lunch to protect future theft.
So another co-worker braved the freezing cold with me (it was our coldest day of the season yet at minus 35 degrees) to go outside to get me a lunch. We walked down the street (about two blocks from our office) for a sandwich and a coffee.
Flash forward to around 2:30 p.m. I went back to the same mini kitchen to wash my coffee mug. There was another editor in there heating up a late lunch. We started talking about how much packaging is part of take out food around the office and whether take out lunches which came in styrofoam was better or if plastic was better. Then on a whim, I opened up the fridge door. I didn't really think about it. I wasn't really expecting to find anything in particular. But what was there on the bottom shelf? A blue tupperware container with vegetable lasagna in it!
I swear that it was not there when I first went looking for it. Someone must have taken it, realized that it wasn't theirs and brought it back to the fridge but by then I had already gotten a new lunch.
I burst out into laughter when I saw my lunch. The other editor must have thought I was nuts because I offered no explanation as to why I was laughing.
My co-workers fell out of their chairs laughing at me when I told them. At least I have a funny office story now. One of many to add to my repertoire!
Labels: Life
Today it's a snow day. Or at least a self-imposed one for me.
Yesterday we got walloped with our biggest snow storm of the season. Although the meterologists had warned of the storm, it actually came earlier than anticipated, starting shortly after 1 p.m. and causing white out conditions very quickly. And something I've never seen before, despite having lived 27 years in Canada: Snow accompanied by lightening.
We were sent home early and even though I left the office shortly after 2 p.m., I did not get home until 6:16 p.m.! Firstly, the GO bus was standing room only. And it took us more than an hour just to get out of the downtown core and onto the highway. Then when we finally pulled into the station, we were stuck at the entrance for a good ten minutes because cars were not moving at all. There was a bit of a "riot" on our bus with some people wanting the bus driver just to let people off in the middle of the road so that they could try and catch the train which was coming in eight minutes. (He did, and I ran breathlessly to the train platform. Note to self: Start working out so that you don't get breathless running a few miles.)
This is actually the lineup I was in! These two people were from my bus ride because the guy in the wool cap and I was talking while waiting in line and the woman in the mint mittens and I both realized that we were getting off at the same station and were trying to decide if we should get off the bus and try to hop on the train.
Overnight the soft snow stopped and instead ice pellets began to fall. All night long I could hear the ice pellets hitting my window.
This morning I woke up to find that my street has been plowed and as such, there is now a foot and a half of snow at the end of my driveway, which my sporty little car with its skirt cannot get through because it's icy snow. I thought about gunning my car in reverse but my neighbour said that earlier someone else had done that and reversed so fast and hard that he reversed right into the car in the driveway opposite of it. I don't want to take my chances with doing that and having a rear bumper to rear bumper accident on my own street.
There is also flooding in parts of the province along with reported black ice and power is down in parts of the city. I called CAA but apparently it's an hour and a half to two hours to get my car unstuck and I am not considered a priority since my car being stuck in my driveway doesn't pose a danger to other people. Their priority is to get to the people stuck on the roads and highways.
Plus it's a Friday, so a nice long weekend is quite attractive.
Yesterday we got walloped with our biggest snow storm of the season. Although the meterologists had warned of the storm, it actually came earlier than anticipated, starting shortly after 1 p.m. and causing white out conditions very quickly. And something I've never seen before, despite having lived 27 years in Canada: Snow accompanied by lightening.
We were sent home early and even though I left the office shortly after 2 p.m., I did not get home until 6:16 p.m.! Firstly, the GO bus was standing room only. And it took us more than an hour just to get out of the downtown core and onto the highway. Then when we finally pulled into the station, we were stuck at the entrance for a good ten minutes because cars were not moving at all. There was a bit of a "riot" on our bus with some people wanting the bus driver just to let people off in the middle of the road so that they could try and catch the train which was coming in eight minutes. (He did, and I ran breathlessly to the train platform. Note to self: Start working out so that you don't get breathless running a few miles.)
This is actually the lineup I was in! These two people were from my bus ride because the guy in the wool cap and I was talking while waiting in line and the woman in the mint mittens and I both realized that we were getting off at the same station and were trying to decide if we should get off the bus and try to hop on the train.
Overnight the soft snow stopped and instead ice pellets began to fall. All night long I could hear the ice pellets hitting my window.
This morning I woke up to find that my street has been plowed and as such, there is now a foot and a half of snow at the end of my driveway, which my sporty little car with its skirt cannot get through because it's icy snow. I thought about gunning my car in reverse but my neighbour said that earlier someone else had done that and reversed so fast and hard that he reversed right into the car in the driveway opposite of it. I don't want to take my chances with doing that and having a rear bumper to rear bumper accident on my own street.
There is also flooding in parts of the province along with reported black ice and power is down in parts of the city. I called CAA but apparently it's an hour and a half to two hours to get my car unstuck and I am not considered a priority since my car being stuck in my driveway doesn't pose a danger to other people. Their priority is to get to the people stuck on the roads and highways.
Plus it's a Friday, so a nice long weekend is quite attractive.
Labels: Life
So the saga of my parents car being stolen is coming to an end.
The insurance company's policy is to wait 30 days before making a settlement. But my parents' insurance broker told them that the process is usually not that long. If cars are not recovered within two or three days then the car is basically a write-off in the eyes of the insurance company. The thinking is that if a car is gone for just two or three days it was taken for a joyride. But for longer than that and it means that the car was taken for other motives. In the case of my parents' car, it's likely that the car was taken for its parts as the Matrix shared parts with many other popular Toyota vehicles, such as the Corolla.
On Tuesday they started the assessment process, figuring out the original value of the vehicle and then determining how much it has depreciated since it was purchased. And from that point on things happened very quickly. On Thursday the assessor called and gave my parents the dollar amount they will be reimbursed -- which was 2/3 of what they paid for the vehicle originally. A pretty good figure since a car's value depreciates by $5,000 the minute you drive it off the lot. My mom was pretty happy with the final amount.
So this afternoon I went car shopping with them. All my life my parents have bought sedans on the account that my mom said she felt more comfortable driving small cars. But this time around, what did they buy? A SUV! Go big or go home was apparently their motto this time! They bought a Nissan X-Trail to be exact, in platinum. They will get their car on Wednesday.
So their car theft story comes to a conclusion in just a month. In one month they lost one car and bought a new one.
The insurance company's policy is to wait 30 days before making a settlement. But my parents' insurance broker told them that the process is usually not that long. If cars are not recovered within two or three days then the car is basically a write-off in the eyes of the insurance company. The thinking is that if a car is gone for just two or three days it was taken for a joyride. But for longer than that and it means that the car was taken for other motives. In the case of my parents' car, it's likely that the car was taken for its parts as the Matrix shared parts with many other popular Toyota vehicles, such as the Corolla.
On Tuesday they started the assessment process, figuring out the original value of the vehicle and then determining how much it has depreciated since it was purchased. And from that point on things happened very quickly. On Thursday the assessor called and gave my parents the dollar amount they will be reimbursed -- which was 2/3 of what they paid for the vehicle originally. A pretty good figure since a car's value depreciates by $5,000 the minute you drive it off the lot. My mom was pretty happy with the final amount.
So this afternoon I went car shopping with them. All my life my parents have bought sedans on the account that my mom said she felt more comfortable driving small cars. But this time around, what did they buy? A SUV! Go big or go home was apparently their motto this time! They bought a Nissan X-Trail to be exact, in platinum. They will get their car on Wednesday.
So their car theft story comes to a conclusion in just a month. In one month they lost one car and bought a new one.
Labels: Life
From Portugal With Love
0 Comments Published by Alexandria on Saturday, February 17, 2007 at 10:37 a.m..
Yesterday I took the day off from work to head out to some appointments, ranging from a massage appointment (good thing, too, since I woke up with a crink in my neck which Nancy helped to sort out) to one with the dermatologist (again), then to the bank to buy RRSPs and to renew expired RRSPs and finally to the library to pick up my copy of Murder in Amsterdam by Ian Buruma, which Emily from TRR recommended. By the time all those appointments were done, it was 2:30 p.m. and I hadn't had lunch and I was exhausted.
On the way home I stopped by the mailbox, which is around the corner from my house. (I have a "smartbox" which is common in new developments. It saves the postal people from having to walk door to door to deliver your mail. Instead they have boxes with nine to twelve "cubbies" in each of them, each of which has a key. Each cubby is assigned to a home and that is where you get your mail. When the postal person goes to deliver the mail, he or she can open all of the cubbies at once and just slot your mail in.)
So stuffed into my little cubby (this always wrecks the bigger issues of my magazines) were two big envelopes from Portugal! I was hungry and tired and it was cold and windy, but I wanted to stand right there and rip them both open. They were both from Teresa, of course. (Who else do I know from Portugal?!) But I got ahold of myself and was able to carry the packages home first and somehow I was able to make it through the door and take off my jacket, scarf, mittens and hat before ripping into the packages.
She sent me a beautiful black heart-shaped necklace for Valentine's Day. Here I was feeling a wee bit sad for myself that I was single on Valentine's Day yet my parents thought of me and all across the oceans, so was Teresa. The lesson: Even if you're single on Valentine's Day, there are still people who love you and fill your heart. And coincidentally, I was looking for a black necklace last week, having realized that I had necklaces in a variety of colours yet I had these black sweaters with no matching accessories.
In the second package, she sent me beautiful blank notebooks in two different sizes. They are from the company her husband works for. They have beautiful antique-looking pictures, some in sepia tones, which just adds to the vintage feel of the pictures. The photographer is named Ricardo Oliveira. The little notebook is just perfect to slip into my purse for notes and reminders to myself of things I come across. I will need to come up with a special use for the bigger notebook. I don't want to "waste" it by filling it with mindless thoughts. Such a special notebook from across the oceans deserves a special purpose.
This afternoon I watched a few minutes of Oprah, which she discussed the notion of karma essentially. The point was that all of your actions have led you to the point in your life you are at presently. So all the things I have put out in the world for the past 27 years have gotten me to this day. I don't know what I did to deserve someone like Teresa in my life, who is so thoughtful and endless in her support. But I am truly greatful.
On the way home I stopped by the mailbox, which is around the corner from my house. (I have a "smartbox" which is common in new developments. It saves the postal people from having to walk door to door to deliver your mail. Instead they have boxes with nine to twelve "cubbies" in each of them, each of which has a key. Each cubby is assigned to a home and that is where you get your mail. When the postal person goes to deliver the mail, he or she can open all of the cubbies at once and just slot your mail in.)
So stuffed into my little cubby (this always wrecks the bigger issues of my magazines) were two big envelopes from Portugal! I was hungry and tired and it was cold and windy, but I wanted to stand right there and rip them both open. They were both from Teresa, of course. (Who else do I know from Portugal?!) But I got ahold of myself and was able to carry the packages home first and somehow I was able to make it through the door and take off my jacket, scarf, mittens and hat before ripping into the packages.
She sent me a beautiful black heart-shaped necklace for Valentine's Day. Here I was feeling a wee bit sad for myself that I was single on Valentine's Day yet my parents thought of me and all across the oceans, so was Teresa. The lesson: Even if you're single on Valentine's Day, there are still people who love you and fill your heart. And coincidentally, I was looking for a black necklace last week, having realized that I had necklaces in a variety of colours yet I had these black sweaters with no matching accessories.
In the second package, she sent me beautiful blank notebooks in two different sizes. They are from the company her husband works for. They have beautiful antique-looking pictures, some in sepia tones, which just adds to the vintage feel of the pictures. The photographer is named Ricardo Oliveira. The little notebook is just perfect to slip into my purse for notes and reminders to myself of things I come across. I will need to come up with a special use for the bigger notebook. I don't want to "waste" it by filling it with mindless thoughts. Such a special notebook from across the oceans deserves a special purpose.
This afternoon I watched a few minutes of Oprah, which she discussed the notion of karma essentially. The point was that all of your actions have led you to the point in your life you are at presently. So all the things I have put out in the world for the past 27 years have gotten me to this day. I don't know what I did to deserve someone like Teresa in my life, who is so thoughtful and endless in her support. But I am truly greatful.
Labels: Friendship, Life
Today marked the biggest storm of winter 2007. Starting from yesterday evening around the evening commute, snow started falling steadily. All through the night while all of us were fast asleep, the snow kept coming down. Enough that when I woke up this morning nearly a foot and a half of snow had fallen. All through the morning it continued to snow even more, so that when the snow stopped falling around noontime, in total Toronto had accumulated just a bit more than a foot and a half. Knee-deep in snow would be an apt description of how much snow fell in the past 24 hours. But as impressive as a foot and a half of snow sounds, we were not the hardest hit in the province. Areas to the north and west of us were hit with two feet or more of snow.
Last night's snow was not the nice kind either. Combined with the wind, it was the kind of snow that blew right in your face so that no matter how wide the brim of your hat, it didn't shield you. Thankfully it was just snow though and it wasn't ice pellets -- imagine ice pellets hitting you in the face.
The roads were a mess this morning. I slid around on the road just driving out of my street because it wasn't plowed. Thankfully the main roads were ploughed and somewhat salted so that while the drive was slow, it wasn't as much of a white-knuckle drive.
The office was half empty with many people making it a self-imposed snow day.
A few pictorial illustrations of the day.
The view from my scrapbooking room. Believe it or not, this is a bedroom on the second floor. The snow had blown around so much that it covered the bottom layer of the window.
And this evening, after nearly an hour of shovelling (really, I need to invest in a snow blower, or a neighbourhood boy who will do the shovelling for me), the snowbanks on the side of the house. It doesn't look high, but it is! I know I am short, but the snowbanks are nearly waist high.
Last night's snow was not the nice kind either. Combined with the wind, it was the kind of snow that blew right in your face so that no matter how wide the brim of your hat, it didn't shield you. Thankfully it was just snow though and it wasn't ice pellets -- imagine ice pellets hitting you in the face.
The roads were a mess this morning. I slid around on the road just driving out of my street because it wasn't plowed. Thankfully the main roads were ploughed and somewhat salted so that while the drive was slow, it wasn't as much of a white-knuckle drive.
The office was half empty with many people making it a self-imposed snow day.
A few pictorial illustrations of the day.
The view from my scrapbooking room. Believe it or not, this is a bedroom on the second floor. The snow had blown around so much that it covered the bottom layer of the window.
And this evening, after nearly an hour of shovelling (really, I need to invest in a snow blower, or a neighbourhood boy who will do the shovelling for me), the snowbanks on the side of the house. It doesn't look high, but it is! I know I am short, but the snowbanks are nearly waist high.
Labels: Life
"I'll Never Feel as Safe Again"
0 Comments Published by Alexandria on Sunday, February 4, 2007 at 3:07 p.m..
On Thursday evening, as is my daily habit, when I got home I called my parents. I usually talk with her about my day for 10 to 15 minutes or so as I'm making my dinner. And if I get stuck about what to make for dinner, she can always come up with something if I tell her what is in my fridge or my cupboards. But on this evening, when I called no one answered. I wasn't worried at first. It was snowing here and so it wouldn't be unusual for my parents (who work together) to get home later than usual because the drive home is longer. But half an hour later than they usually get home, I got a bit worried so I called my mom's cell phone. Luckily she answered. Except to say that she and my dad were at the police station. Their car had been stolen outside of their workplace.
After that, I lost my appetite and just absent-mindedly picked at some food while I waited for my mom to get home and call me back. In the meantime I frantically called my brother and sister to see if they knew anything else. But they didn't.
So as it turned out, my dad went out to the car when it was time to leave but couldn't find his keys. So he went back inside to look for them. When he went back outside two minutes later, the car was gone.
I should say that my parents don't drive anything special. They drive a 2003 Toyota Matrix. Hardly a BMW or a Mercedes. it doesn't even have a leather interior or a sunroof or anything. Hardly a car that screams "Steal me!"
So they have filed a police report and called their insurance guy and now they have to wait. Their insurance agent says that they have to wait 30 days before anything happens. If the car is found then they will assess the state it's in before determining what happens.
In the end, it's a car and nobody was in the car when it was taken. It could have been a lot worst. But my mom says that she feel violated from the experience and that she'll never feel safe again at work. It's a place that she goes to everyday, it's not a place that she can avoid. The police said that it was a possibility that whomever took the car had been watching the routine of the people who worked there for a while and knew everyone's habits -- which only made my mom feel more violated.
After that, I lost my appetite and just absent-mindedly picked at some food while I waited for my mom to get home and call me back. In the meantime I frantically called my brother and sister to see if they knew anything else. But they didn't.
So as it turned out, my dad went out to the car when it was time to leave but couldn't find his keys. So he went back inside to look for them. When he went back outside two minutes later, the car was gone.
I should say that my parents don't drive anything special. They drive a 2003 Toyota Matrix. Hardly a BMW or a Mercedes. it doesn't even have a leather interior or a sunroof or anything. Hardly a car that screams "Steal me!"
So they have filed a police report and called their insurance guy and now they have to wait. Their insurance agent says that they have to wait 30 days before anything happens. If the car is found then they will assess the state it's in before determining what happens.
In the end, it's a car and nobody was in the car when it was taken. It could have been a lot worst. But my mom says that she feel violated from the experience and that she'll never feel safe again at work. It's a place that she goes to everyday, it's not a place that she can avoid. The police said that it was a possibility that whomever took the car had been watching the routine of the people who worked there for a while and knew everyone's habits -- which only made my mom feel more violated.
Labels: Life
Feeling a bit stir crazy today, and the roads too slippery to get in the car and drive around on undeveloped roads to go house hunting, I decided to clean the house I am currently in. Or rather to sort out one part of it. Namely by bookcase, which is stuffed to the brims with books. In fact new books don't actually even make it into the bookcase because there isn't room anymore, so they lay around on the floor.
So I decided to do a big purge, keeping books by my favourite author Alice Hoffman, my Harry Potter books and other books I might read again as well as books I've bought over the years and never got around to reading (there are way too many of those) on the shelves. Some others that I might read again but don't need to look at everyday, I've packed away into boxes and stored in the basement. And a bigger selection I've put into milk crates to be donated to the library. Most of those were books from university -- I didn't like King Soloman's Mines the first time so I probably wouldn't touch it again unless it was to kill a spider.
Before
After
I can actually see to the back of the shelf now! And it means room to buy more books!
So I decided to do a big purge, keeping books by my favourite author Alice Hoffman, my Harry Potter books and other books I might read again as well as books I've bought over the years and never got around to reading (there are way too many of those) on the shelves. Some others that I might read again but don't need to look at everyday, I've packed away into boxes and stored in the basement. And a bigger selection I've put into milk crates to be donated to the library. Most of those were books from university -- I didn't like King Soloman's Mines the first time so I probably wouldn't touch it again unless it was to kill a spider.
Before
After
I can actually see to the back of the shelf now! And it means room to buy more books!
Labels: Life
The No-Go Train Strikes Again
0 Comments Published by Alexandria on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 8:57 p.m..
This evening I had the most horrible commute. The train system never fails to surprise me about how inefficient it can be. No wonder a friend at work calls it the No-GO train. It really shouldn't call itself the "GO Train" since it rarely goes properly.
First the train was late 10 minutes and as today was the coldest day this winter, it was not too much fun. But thankfully the train doors were right in front of me so I was one of the first on the train and I got a seat. I vowed not to be grumpy for this small bit of luck.
But just before the first stop, Kipling Station, which is 15 minutes from Union Station in Toronto, the train got stuck because of a mechanical problem. I was napping on the train so I didn't notice how long we were stuck on the tracks. When I woke however and had sat long enough to get bored and crack back open my book ("The Constant Gardener"), I did look at my watch to see that it was nearly 6 p.m., so we were nearly already 15 minutes late. Then I realized that the heat wasn't working at least on my train so my feet were getting cold, which made me lose concentration in my book. I sat and listened to my iPod for a while when it was announced that the mechanical problems on our train could not be fixed and that everyone would have to deboard the train and wait on the platform for the next one. Grrrrrrr!
Time: 6:10 p.m.
So back on the platform with all the other grumbling passengers tired from yet another day at the office. There were two annoying and immature girls standing next to me on the train who were yelling into their respective cell phones to their family or friends about the train problems. My feet were starting to get cold again. I wondered how long it might take for my feet to totally freeze and have to be sawed off in order to save the rest of my leg ... Did I mention that it had started to snow as I was leaving the office and by now it was coming down heavily? Enough snow to cover and stick to my coat so that I had to brush off the snow with my mittens.
The next train came ten minutes later. Someone behind me pushed me into the side of the train in their rush to try to get on the train.
On the already full train it got more packed. To say that it was standing room only would be an understatement. Everybody was standing shoulder to shoulder on both levels. Nobody was happy. It took about ten minutes to board everybody and even still people were left behind at Kipling Station. And because of the volume of people, it was taking longer for people to get off the train at their stations.
When we pulled into my station it was 7:20. Normally when I leave my office at 5 p.m. to catch my 5:30 p.m. train I get home at 6:20 p.m. I was an entire hour late. And because it was snowing so heavily, I had to crank the heat to get my car warmed up and defrosted. I also had to brush the three inches of snow off my car, which meant standing in the cold with my still frozen feet and more snow falling down. When I got in the car, I turned the heat to just my feet, which were shaking so much I was worried they might slip off the gas or break pedals. (There were also two car accidents on my short drive home. In one case I could see that a car had driven off the road and head on into the sign post. A police officer and a tow truck were on the scene.)
Driving home (very, very slowly), I realized how hungry and grumpy I was. I was not in the mood to come home and cook nor did I want a salad. So I did the only thing any reasonable person in my position would do: I drove to a McDonald's and did a drive-thru run for a McChicken meal.
The first thing I did when I got home and hung up my wet jacket, hat, scarf and mittens to dry was to stand on top of one of the heating vents in my home warm my feet. So there I stood on top of the heating venting in my living room warming my feet and with my McDonald's fries. When I felt that my feet had sufficiently thawed, I sat on the couch with a hot water bottle on my feet and my fleece blanket wrapped around me eating my burger. And if that weren't all gluttonous enough, to cap off my meal, I ate the last cupcake leftover from Kimberly's birthday cupcakes. So all in all, a winner of an evening.
But before my entire evening was ruined, a nice surprise did happen today. This morning after my boss had come in I could hear her laughing at her desk (we sit in cubicles so her desk is only a cubicle and a half away from mine since I share a cubicle), then she came over laughing. But as she was walking over she was already apologizing to me. In her hand she held a Christmas gift bag. She said that at Christmas our company had given everybody a gift bag but because I had left for the holidays already and the stuff inside the bag was rather expensive and she didn't want it to sit out in the open for two weeks, she locked the bag in her bottom desk drawer for safe keeping. But apparently she doesn't open the drawer very often because she had forgotten it until now, a month later. But at least it was January 24, so it was a post-Christmas Eve gift! Inside was a big box of Laura Secord chocolates (yummy!), a bottle of Chanel No. 5, some Vanilla Smirnoff Ice, chapstick, a card for free music downloads and a sample of Vera Wang's Princess perfume. (What a shocker that the gift was so good this year. Last year it was cheap contra: tapenade that is still sitting in everyone's cupboards untouched, condoms and lube (really!), face wash and gum.) So Christmas in January it was for me today.
First the train was late 10 minutes and as today was the coldest day this winter, it was not too much fun. But thankfully the train doors were right in front of me so I was one of the first on the train and I got a seat. I vowed not to be grumpy for this small bit of luck.
But just before the first stop, Kipling Station, which is 15 minutes from Union Station in Toronto, the train got stuck because of a mechanical problem. I was napping on the train so I didn't notice how long we were stuck on the tracks. When I woke however and had sat long enough to get bored and crack back open my book ("The Constant Gardener"), I did look at my watch to see that it was nearly 6 p.m., so we were nearly already 15 minutes late. Then I realized that the heat wasn't working at least on my train so my feet were getting cold, which made me lose concentration in my book. I sat and listened to my iPod for a while when it was announced that the mechanical problems on our train could not be fixed and that everyone would have to deboard the train and wait on the platform for the next one. Grrrrrrr!
Time: 6:10 p.m.
So back on the platform with all the other grumbling passengers tired from yet another day at the office. There were two annoying and immature girls standing next to me on the train who were yelling into their respective cell phones to their family or friends about the train problems. My feet were starting to get cold again. I wondered how long it might take for my feet to totally freeze and have to be sawed off in order to save the rest of my leg ... Did I mention that it had started to snow as I was leaving the office and by now it was coming down heavily? Enough snow to cover and stick to my coat so that I had to brush off the snow with my mittens.
The next train came ten minutes later. Someone behind me pushed me into the side of the train in their rush to try to get on the train.
On the already full train it got more packed. To say that it was standing room only would be an understatement. Everybody was standing shoulder to shoulder on both levels. Nobody was happy. It took about ten minutes to board everybody and even still people were left behind at Kipling Station. And because of the volume of people, it was taking longer for people to get off the train at their stations.
When we pulled into my station it was 7:20. Normally when I leave my office at 5 p.m. to catch my 5:30 p.m. train I get home at 6:20 p.m. I was an entire hour late. And because it was snowing so heavily, I had to crank the heat to get my car warmed up and defrosted. I also had to brush the three inches of snow off my car, which meant standing in the cold with my still frozen feet and more snow falling down. When I got in the car, I turned the heat to just my feet, which were shaking so much I was worried they might slip off the gas or break pedals. (There were also two car accidents on my short drive home. In one case I could see that a car had driven off the road and head on into the sign post. A police officer and a tow truck were on the scene.)
Driving home (very, very slowly), I realized how hungry and grumpy I was. I was not in the mood to come home and cook nor did I want a salad. So I did the only thing any reasonable person in my position would do: I drove to a McDonald's and did a drive-thru run for a McChicken meal.
The first thing I did when I got home and hung up my wet jacket, hat, scarf and mittens to dry was to stand on top of one of the heating vents in my home warm my feet. So there I stood on top of the heating venting in my living room warming my feet and with my McDonald's fries. When I felt that my feet had sufficiently thawed, I sat on the couch with a hot water bottle on my feet and my fleece blanket wrapped around me eating my burger. And if that weren't all gluttonous enough, to cap off my meal, I ate the last cupcake leftover from Kimberly's birthday cupcakes. So all in all, a winner of an evening.
But before my entire evening was ruined, a nice surprise did happen today. This morning after my boss had come in I could hear her laughing at her desk (we sit in cubicles so her desk is only a cubicle and a half away from mine since I share a cubicle), then she came over laughing. But as she was walking over she was already apologizing to me. In her hand she held a Christmas gift bag. She said that at Christmas our company had given everybody a gift bag but because I had left for the holidays already and the stuff inside the bag was rather expensive and she didn't want it to sit out in the open for two weeks, she locked the bag in her bottom desk drawer for safe keeping. But apparently she doesn't open the drawer very often because she had forgotten it until now, a month later. But at least it was January 24, so it was a post-Christmas Eve gift! Inside was a big box of Laura Secord chocolates (yummy!), a bottle of Chanel No. 5, some Vanilla Smirnoff Ice, chapstick, a card for free music downloads and a sample of Vera Wang's Princess perfume. (What a shocker that the gift was so good this year. Last year it was cheap contra: tapenade that is still sitting in everyone's cupboards untouched, condoms and lube (really!), face wash and gum.) So Christmas in January it was for me today.
Labels: Life
Today was one of those days when I had no energy to do anything but loaf around the house. Usually Sundays are quiet days for relaxing, but that isn't to say that I don't usually do anything.
A typical Sunday comprises of tidying up like putting laundry away, paying bills and cleaning my desk, and then lunch. After lunch I usually veg in front of the TV (usually a DVD of Gilmore Girls) and scrapbooking, or of late, knitting my scarf. After an hour or two of that I usually put some time in the kitchen, making some meals for lunch through the week. Then it's a mug of tea and back in front of the TV with Gilmore Girls and my scrapbooking again.
But today I was feeling rather lethargic. I grazed over a little bit of pasta salad that I was sent home with from my goddaughter's birthday dinner, so lunch was later than usual, which apparently threw me for a bit of a loop. This afternoon I just vegged in front of the TV with an old tape (yes, I still have VHS tapes) of Mad About You episodes. A friend had mentioned that it was one of her favourite shows earlier in the week and it reminded me that up in a closet shelf I had a box of old VHS tapes with episodes of Mad About You, Friends and Murphy Brown. So I put a tape in and just lay on the couch. I even had a short nap for a bit before remembered that I had laundry in the dryer.
I had forgotten how funny and sweet the show is in it's own simple way. And Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt are pretty good actors, too. And the little baby who played their daughter Mabel (named from the acronym invented by her mom played by Carol Burnett for "Mothers always bring extra love") was so adorable.
One of the episodes I watched today was how Jaime and Paul met: at a newsstand when she took the last paper on the premise that her parents' obituary was in it. She left behind her dry cleaning slip and so he picked it up and tracked her down to her office building, going up the first 31 floors asking every receptionist if someone fitting her description worked there. It made my heart melt and made me wonder why I can't meet guys like that.
A typical Sunday comprises of tidying up like putting laundry away, paying bills and cleaning my desk, and then lunch. After lunch I usually veg in front of the TV (usually a DVD of Gilmore Girls) and scrapbooking, or of late, knitting my scarf. After an hour or two of that I usually put some time in the kitchen, making some meals for lunch through the week. Then it's a mug of tea and back in front of the TV with Gilmore Girls and my scrapbooking again.
But today I was feeling rather lethargic. I grazed over a little bit of pasta salad that I was sent home with from my goddaughter's birthday dinner, so lunch was later than usual, which apparently threw me for a bit of a loop. This afternoon I just vegged in front of the TV with an old tape (yes, I still have VHS tapes) of Mad About You episodes. A friend had mentioned that it was one of her favourite shows earlier in the week and it reminded me that up in a closet shelf I had a box of old VHS tapes with episodes of Mad About You, Friends and Murphy Brown. So I put a tape in and just lay on the couch. I even had a short nap for a bit before remembered that I had laundry in the dryer.
I had forgotten how funny and sweet the show is in it's own simple way. And Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt are pretty good actors, too. And the little baby who played their daughter Mabel (named from the acronym invented by her mom played by Carol Burnett for "Mothers always bring extra love") was so adorable.
One of the episodes I watched today was how Jaime and Paul met: at a newsstand when she took the last paper on the premise that her parents' obituary was in it. She left behind her dry cleaning slip and so he picked it up and tracked her down to her office building, going up the first 31 floors asking every receptionist if someone fitting her description worked there. It made my heart melt and made me wonder why I can't meet guys like that.
So winter has really come to Toronto. Roads covered with snow and ice and commuter problems. I just wouldn't be Canadian if I didn't complain about the weather, right? In December I complained because there was no snow for Christmas and now I'm complaining because there is snow! (Snow was peaceful yesterday when I could stay indoors. Today, having to go to work and running on the schedule of the train, the snow and the ice weren't so peaceful.)
Last night the sound of the ice pellets hitting my window woke me up a few times, it was that loud. It was like someone was throwing little stones at my window. Today would've been a good day to have a sick day.
This morning I left the house earlier than usual, expecting that there would be GO Train delays since on a day when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping there are "switch problems" or "signal delays." But go figure that on the first day of a severe winter storm the GO Train runs on time! Driving to the train station I drove like a granny and made sure to leave at least a car's length between me and the car in front of me. I'm sure that beneath my mittens, my knuckles had turned white from clenching the steering wheel so hard. Thankfully I made it safely to the train station. The walk to work was slushy and slippery, especially on the roads over the streetcar tracks. The puddles were deep and I was thankful that I didn't wear my kitten heeled boots as I was planning to as I had an event to go to in the afternoon. (Or as the police officer was saying on the news this morning, "Leave your Pradas in the parking lot today. Today is a day for the Kodiaks.")
Then this afternoon I was coming back from the media launch of the stage musical Dirty Dancing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and through the heavy metal of the cab I could hear the ice pellets hitting the cab. The sound made me think of sprinkles hitting a cookie sheet, only louder and the sound magnified by a thousand. I was glad to be inside the cab and not outside walking on the street.
Our publisher sent us all home early on account of the bad weather, which was very nice of her. We were all glad to get to leave and start our journeys home early. But even getting to take an earlier train and getting to the station 20 minutes before usual, I spent those 20 minutes scraping the snow and ice off my car. It took quite a bit of chipping away at the layers of ice on my door windows, but fortunately at one point the ice on my windshield was coming off in large sheets. I scraped so hard at various points that I thought my actual window was going to crack along with the ice.
Needless to say that when I got through the doors of my house I breathed a bit sign of relief. Tomorrow I get to do it all over again!
Some pictures of today's weather conditions. The last image is of 27-year-old Bissy, a polar bear from the Toronto Zoo, who must be in her element today.
Last night the sound of the ice pellets hitting my window woke me up a few times, it was that loud. It was like someone was throwing little stones at my window. Today would've been a good day to have a sick day.
This morning I left the house earlier than usual, expecting that there would be GO Train delays since on a day when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping there are "switch problems" or "signal delays." But go figure that on the first day of a severe winter storm the GO Train runs on time! Driving to the train station I drove like a granny and made sure to leave at least a car's length between me and the car in front of me. I'm sure that beneath my mittens, my knuckles had turned white from clenching the steering wheel so hard. Thankfully I made it safely to the train station. The walk to work was slushy and slippery, especially on the roads over the streetcar tracks. The puddles were deep and I was thankful that I didn't wear my kitten heeled boots as I was planning to as I had an event to go to in the afternoon. (Or as the police officer was saying on the news this morning, "Leave your Pradas in the parking lot today. Today is a day for the Kodiaks.")
Then this afternoon I was coming back from the media launch of the stage musical Dirty Dancing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and through the heavy metal of the cab I could hear the ice pellets hitting the cab. The sound made me think of sprinkles hitting a cookie sheet, only louder and the sound magnified by a thousand. I was glad to be inside the cab and not outside walking on the street.
Our publisher sent us all home early on account of the bad weather, which was very nice of her. We were all glad to get to leave and start our journeys home early. But even getting to take an earlier train and getting to the station 20 minutes before usual, I spent those 20 minutes scraping the snow and ice off my car. It took quite a bit of chipping away at the layers of ice on my door windows, but fortunately at one point the ice on my windshield was coming off in large sheets. I scraped so hard at various points that I thought my actual window was going to crack along with the ice.
Needless to say that when I got through the doors of my house I breathed a bit sign of relief. Tomorrow I get to do it all over again!
Some pictures of today's weather conditions. The last image is of 27-year-old Bissy, a polar bear from the Toronto Zoo, who must be in her element today.
Labels: Life
This afternoon while getting ready to go out with my mom, I looked outside my window and saw a row of birds perched on my neighbour's roof. There must have been about three dozen of them, gathered together for a bird convention. Perhaps they were discussing the path they would take to fly south now that snow had come to Ontario.
I wish I had been a milisecond faster -- I could've captured the second all the birds flew off together over my house.
I wish I had been a milisecond faster -- I could've captured the second all the birds flew off together over my house.
Labels: Life
Today it has finally snowed here. Enough of the white stuff at least to stick to the ground and not melt away as the day progresses on and the sunlight melts it all away. In early December we had just a thin coating of snow when we woke up but by the time I walked to work it had all melted away leaving only grey concrete.
The world looks so peaceful when it snows, even in suburbia, amidst the driveways and the sidewalks. It feels like a quiet blanket has descended upon the neighbourhood. I love how the tree branches and shrubs are sprinkled with snow, like a dusting of icing sugar. Even the boring grey steps leading up to the front of the house look pretty.
(Please excuse the bareness of the front garden. I am hardly a green thumb and the front garden is the bain of the existence of my neighbours, I'm sure.)
The world looks so peaceful when it snows, even in suburbia, amidst the driveways and the sidewalks. It feels like a quiet blanket has descended upon the neighbourhood. I love how the tree branches and shrubs are sprinkled with snow, like a dusting of icing sugar. Even the boring grey steps leading up to the front of the house look pretty.
(Please excuse the bareness of the front garden. I am hardly a green thumb and the front garden is the bain of the existence of my neighbours, I'm sure.)
Labels: Life
A death in the family
2 Comments Published by Alexandria on Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 8:36 p.m..
This evening after the dinner dishes had been done and I was enjoying some time online and relaxing after the big presentation this morning I got a phone call, the kind that is never pleasant. It was my mom to say that my great uncle in San Francisco had died after a seven month-long battle with lung cancer.
This was my dad's uncle, his father's brother. But he was like a grandfather to my brother, sister and I. We never knew our dad's parents as they lived far away in Scotland and didn't, well, couldn't, travel. And my mom's dad died just three months before I was born. My great uncle and his wife visited a lot and as a family we went there every few years.
I last saw my great uncle nearly two years ago. It was March and at the funeral of his brother in Montreal.
With the passing of my great uncle, this is also the last real and tangible connection my dad has to his parents, which I know is sad for him. He was able to see his mom several years ago before she died, but he didn't see his dad for the last 20 years of his life, from when he left Scotland and never had the opportunity to go back.
I know my great uncle was in a lot of pain before he died. When I talked to him this past summer on the phone his breath was laboured and his speech was slow, but it was in fact an improvement for him. He was undergoing heavy chemotherapy and radical medication. He was in his eighties and he was very well loved.
I think that is all any of us can ask for in the end: That we were loved by people in this world.
This was my dad's uncle, his father's brother. But he was like a grandfather to my brother, sister and I. We never knew our dad's parents as they lived far away in Scotland and didn't, well, couldn't, travel. And my mom's dad died just three months before I was born. My great uncle and his wife visited a lot and as a family we went there every few years.
I last saw my great uncle nearly two years ago. It was March and at the funeral of his brother in Montreal.
With the passing of my great uncle, this is also the last real and tangible connection my dad has to his parents, which I know is sad for him. He was able to see his mom several years ago before she died, but he didn't see his dad for the last 20 years of his life, from when he left Scotland and never had the opportunity to go back.
I know my great uncle was in a lot of pain before he died. When I talked to him this past summer on the phone his breath was laboured and his speech was slow, but it was in fact an improvement for him. He was undergoing heavy chemotherapy and radical medication. He was in his eighties and he was very well loved.
I think that is all any of us can ask for in the end: That we were loved by people in this world.
Labels: Life
Last night I watched an episode of "Boston Legal." In one of the storylines, Clarence/Clarice was suing the all-women gym he/she once belonged to. (Clarence is a man who dresses up as a woman named Clarice because as Clarence he is too shy and lacks confidence to the things Clarice does, such as stand up for herself to others or speak her mind.) The gym owner said that she could no longer permit him, as Clarence, to use the gym's facility because it was an all women's gym and even though she knew that technically he was a man, so long as he was dressed as a woman, it could be permitted. (Pretty flimsy, yes.)
But as the story developed, at the heart of the matter it wasn't that now Clarence was a man but that as a Clarice, he had heard about the problems and pains of the other gym members, particularly the gym owner being sued, who had gone through a bad divorce. And now that the divorce was over she didn't want anything to do with Clarice anymore because she reminded this woman of her past life.
It was a "YOU-reka" moment for me. It makes me think about the friend in my life who changed on me and who "dropped" me after I had supported her through the past two years of her bad divorce. When our friendship started drifting apart it wasn't just because I wasn't chatty in the morning anymore or because I was having other problems in my personal life, but it was because I knew too much about her and the horror of her divorce. I saw a side of her that people outside of her family didn't see: I saw her at her lowest and that makes people vulnerable and she didn't want to be that vulnerable to someone else.
In hindsight the friendship ended formally on a good note: She took me out for a fancy lunch as a thank you for having been there for her through her divorce and for being her ear. Who would've thought that after that lunch, our friendship would be over.
But as the story developed, at the heart of the matter it wasn't that now Clarence was a man but that as a Clarice, he had heard about the problems and pains of the other gym members, particularly the gym owner being sued, who had gone through a bad divorce. And now that the divorce was over she didn't want anything to do with Clarice anymore because she reminded this woman of her past life.
It was a "YOU-reka" moment for me. It makes me think about the friend in my life who changed on me and who "dropped" me after I had supported her through the past two years of her bad divorce. When our friendship started drifting apart it wasn't just because I wasn't chatty in the morning anymore or because I was having other problems in my personal life, but it was because I knew too much about her and the horror of her divorce. I saw a side of her that people outside of her family didn't see: I saw her at her lowest and that makes people vulnerable and she didn't want to be that vulnerable to someone else.
In hindsight the friendship ended formally on a good note: She took me out for a fancy lunch as a thank you for having been there for her through her divorce and for being her ear. Who would've thought that after that lunch, our friendship would be over.
