Jolly Ho

Another Christmas has come and gone, but my stomach certainly has not forgotten the bounty that we had. In fact there is still half a bounty left in my fridge, namely a delicious turkey cooked by Neil and Ai which unfortunately the more I look at it the sicker I feel. I even made a turkey stir fry to take to work for lunch today. Any way to get rid of the damn thing.

Our merry party of 11 devoured the turkey, sushi and bulgogi. There was also the munching of chips, candy cane, donuts, crazy wasabi crackers, cake. Basically goodies galore. We entertained ourselves with lots of drawing, courtesy of a big pad of paper, whiteboard and markers I had supplied. I currently display those artworks on my living room walls with pride.

Christmas 2006 in TO has been and gone, but it will not be forgotten!


L: Eat Drink Man Woman; R: Turkey with all the trimmings.

L: Santa Toshi! "Come on Toshi, come on. You're SO good."; R; Kaori, or was it Rudolf?
L: Awwww...Emi and Ai; R: Artists at work.

L: Gay Santa; R: Fugly Geisha.

Merry Christmas (or more PC, Happy Holidays - barf) and have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Parties

My work Christmas party last week sucked. Working for the government meant no spending tax payers' money frivolously (errr, I know there are SO many things wrong with that sentance) that we had to pay for our own Christmas party. We got one drink included in the ticket price. One drink.

Last night's party didn't suck. A house full of nice Canadians. One had inherited $200,000 and wore a Hugh Hefner robe. Another when asked what he did he said "Gambling. Online Poker." I said "So you're up?" He said "Yeah." I laughed with a girl about the gourmet pretzels that were out on the table. It was a Seinfeld episode. Then a guy pointed out we were standing under a mistletoe. Someone turned to me and said "I didn't mean to molest that dog." I looked and it was an actual dog he was referring to and it scampered under a chair.

I drank way too much last night.

I was still drunk when I walked to work this morning. I know this because the ground kept changing its mind about its position relative to me. I am still drunk now and I know this because I am trying to picture its movement using X, Y and Z axis.

It's 11.53am and the hangover and I are having a conflict of interest. I wish it was a death ray and that it wins. And why did I have that egg sandwich for breakfast? Oh that's right, poor judgements presides when you are not sober. That's why you don't drink and drive. Shoot.

One drink doesn't sound too bad an idea after all.

Fragile

This is a confession. Treat me with care.

I am strangely attracted to ******* and I knew from day one that this was to become a thorn in my side. He had shown interest in me first and I tried to shield away, but when you **** with someone it's impossible to diffuse that tension. We began sleeping together. Over the last few months I have been battling with myself, over my actions, over my feelings, against the obstacle that he is emotionally unavailable. He is arrogant and self-focused. So why do I like him so?

Our relationship is a volatile one. At times we act as first loves, giggles and stolen glances. At other times we behave as strangers, the chill in the air concrete and tangible. I don't know why we are like this. I've never met anyone like him before. I despise him and adore him at the same time.
This is the unhealthiest, mental and emotional place I've ever been and I hate to attribute this to him. I'm beginning to question myself and my whole being ("It's all his fault, isn't it? Or was it me? It's me isn't it? Oh my god it was me. But it couldn't have? Could it? Oh god it could."). How did I, a carefree 28 year old woman, who has travelled the world, who had always been sure of herself in matters of the heart, who always ruled with her head, become a stereotypical neurotic mess?

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas

It snowed for the first time on Monday and I took a pic from my bedroom window on Tuesday morning when I woke up. It was only a light dusting of snow but already looks so different than when I first moved in:

L: October; R: December

We also bought and decorated our tree on Friday. It's my first tree would you believe? Two years ago I made my tree out of cardboard like a right poor Martha Stewart (you'll never see those last three words in succession anywhere!).

Not the Best Pics, But It's Food.

The usual Saturday night gang plus the odd extra one or two made Saturday dinner another success.


L: My tuna potato cakes, photo by Dave, receipe by Kate; Neil's home-made cheese cake.

L: In the wake of hungry people...; R: Yumiko's teriyaki chicken.

SLOAN

Ok so I haven't taken up any challenges yet, but I was at a gig and thought I should let you know what that was like. The first show on 6th October wasn't so good, considering it was cancelled because bassist Chris Murphy was sick. We went for drinks at the Biermarket instead and on route we passed a glowing lightbox (outside a theatre for posting posters) which Neil stood in front of for this photo.

The show was postponed till last night night, 30th November. The weather has been unseasonally warm for the past week but it rained a bit. Yoko Casionos were the support band and I couldn't say I was awed by them. But to be fair this kind of music isn't my scene, so really who am I to judge?

However when Sloan came on stage the energy level of the room lifted, as fans chanting the ritualistic "Slooo-oan... Slooo-oan... Slooo-oan..." (it sounded exactly when Bart and Lisa called out "Daaaa-ryyyl... Daaaa-ryyyl..." in The Simpsons) were finally rewarded with their presence and sounds at around 10.30pm.

Far more polished and commanding than the Yokos, Sloan were relaxed on stage, exuding that typical Canadian ease I find so present in almost every Canadian person I meet. They are a band with a career spanning more than 10 years and you can see the crowd enjoying them as they once did in their teens. As a Canadian indie band they've done well to garner the affection of their fans in Toronto, their home city for most of their lives. When the band announced their last song of the night, I was surprised at the number of people heading to the door. Weren't they the beloved home-grown punk/rock/pop band they were chanting and cheering for throughout the night? Did the rain really play on their mind about how the journey home would be affected? But for those who stayed, an encore replenished them with Sloan and Yoko Casionos coming together and playing as one. Awwww... What a nice lot these Canadians are.




Visit their website at http://www.sloanmusic.com/

Our Princess and Her Prince

Just read an article about Princess Mary and Prince Frederik, back in Oz for the first time since the birth of their 13th month old baby boy Christian and suddenly I realised how enthralled I was by this impossible-dream couple.

Both great looking people, well educated, living a happy and prosperous life with their son who will soon be joined by another sibling.

I can now understand the facination many held for Princess Di and Prince Charles.

http://www.crownprincecouple.dk/english.php


Hello hottie!

Work

This is how bored I am.

Welcome to Tina Chen's cubicle.

Challenge Me!

I feel like I'm running out of things to blog about. So I'm now taking a leaf from the pages of the reality show book and getting YOU to tell me what to do! How does that sound?

Dance in a canola field like a mad woman? Or find AND hold an orb of light?

Email me your suggestions and ideas and I will go out there and perform for you. All of course accompanied by photos to prove that I've done them. I'm not setting any limits here because I know you're a bunch of intelligent and reasonable people; I doubt any of you will put my life in danger or my social life for that matter.

So hop to it, I'm (strangely) looking forward to your thoughts...

Discover ancient ruins?

Eat strange and exotic foods?

An Affair to Remember

Again, I don't usually do reviews but after reading Around the World in 80 Dates, I was in the mood for love. It was a chilly day on Sunday, so I bought myself some herbal tea and chocolates and rented this classic which I hadn't seen before but knew from When Harry Met Sally, now a modern day clasic. I had no idea how Romantic this movie was! It is perfect in its orchestration. Now more than ever I want to fall in love (again).



Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr - giants in the cinematic world.

Around the World in 80 Dates

I haven't done a book review on this blog before and I'm not likely to start a barrage of them, but I have to say this particular book has given me more laugh-out-loud moments than any man.

This is a true story. Jennifer Cox was tired of being single so she sought out her friends across the globe and asked them to set her up on dates with eligiable bachelors according to her Soul Mate Description. She then took the next 6 months to travel the world to meet her 80 dates.

SINGLE LADIES: IS HER LIFE JUST TO DIE FOR???

And the cherry on top of this delicious adventure is that she does find her soul mate (insert collective sigh here). I promise I have not revealed anything that would take away from the impact of her words and stories; her observations, follies and that typically self-depricating humour that the English do so well makes this a real page-turner and by the end, I was a gushing mess, elated by inspiration.

Having tried speed dating in London and online dating in Toronto, I don't know what else I'll try when I'm in Taiwan next year and back home in Oz the year after. Perhaps you can help?

2006 Christmas Parade

The 2006 Christmas Parade came rumbling by at the end of my street on Saturday, so I kinda had to go down and take a look. A friend said to me at work on Monday, "Why? It's pretty sad."

Toronto's parade is one way of describing the city itself - promises of excitement and merriment, followed by disillusionment when presented with a long, drawn out affair where the main man (Santa) didn't even turn to look my way. Ok it was nice to see the kids out and loving it. Bless them, for the world they will inherit.


L: One of many marching bands; R: Ariel.

L: Coca Cola bear; R: Mr Peanut - what a trooper in this age of peanut allergies.

L: This was cool; R: Santa didn't look over this way once! No milk and cookies for him this year.

L: A real yellow school bus; R: The crowd disperses on Bloor St.

Roadtrip to Montreal

Essential to a roadtrip is to have fun on the way. I start by annoying Deeple.

Second, it's not crucial but nice to have a mascot. We picked this little fella up from a vending machine. See how he breakdances.

It's important to have sustanence on a long journey (it took 6hrs to drive from Toronto to Montreal) so we stocked up. Look it's even in French. This kind of preparation shows your willingness to acclimatise to the new destination.

In Montreal we had fun climbing Mont Royal (hiking shouldn't stop anyone from doing a catwalk walk),

even if it was a little windy and we were a little lost.

Our efforts were rewarded with a view of the city at the top (bleak but still nice).

Over the weekend we explored and learnt about the city,

and admired its beauty as evident here in the interior of Notre Dame.

One thing you should never skimp on is food. You're on holidays - eat and enjoy!

The thing is, you can always dance it off when you sample the nightlife in your holiday city!

A roadtrip is a great way of bonding with your friends whilst revelling in the excitement of a strange new land, so even if it gets a little tense, you'll always end up having fun and even better friends.

Thanks Deeps for a great Rememberance Day long weekend!