Toronto City Life » Contributed

Well aren’t I a giant asshole? I took my sweet ass time getting this part two out! Life has pretty much blown up in my face, in a good way…super busy these days, although I am starting to feel the pull to slow down. Sometimes if I do too much and take on too much (ok all the time) I start getting stressed out and then all my yes’s turn to big fat NO’S.

These pictures are actually making me a bit sad because the weather has turned to Fall for good. And although I love Autumn and Winter, they don’t love me. My SAD has been kicking my ass lately (already) and to think that I have another 6 months of this is exhausting me. Time to vitamin things up and get tons of sleep.

It was such a gorgeous day that day. Today is the first sunny day we have had in an entire week. If you looked at the weather forecast for Toronto all last week it said hours of sun: 0. This is unacceptable. The weather this past Saturday was B-R-U-T-A-L. Man.

We saw this little guy trying to cross the walkway from one stretch of grass to the other. There were tons of people walking and biking that day and we didn’t want it to get squished. So Dave and I stood like two beefy cops around it, escorting it to where it needed to go. Eventually I helped it along with a stick. Those things are pretty slow. Seriously so cute. Reminds me of Oscar the grouch’s friend Slimey. I mean, even though he is a worm. Same diff.

Keep moving solider.

Dave is saving it further and placing it in this tree.

I like that the trees have little placards so you know which type of tree it is.

Honestly.

Dave and I kept getting lost in staring at the waves. One of us would have to tear the other away. I am completely and utterly drawn to water and everything about it. I love the mystery of what lies beneath, and I love when it is angry. This past Saturday Lake Ontario looked VERY angry indeed. Kind of like this:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecourson/4590104907/ Imagine sitting high up in your condo overlooking the water, watching the lake when it is this stormy? It’s my freaking dream to be able to do that one day. Anyway, back to pretty days, warm days.

The Island is a treat. We are so lucky to have a place like this in Toronto. To escape the craziness that is the city and just retreat into nature and beauty. Only costs $6.50, return trip!

Of course I had to get to the end of this and stare into the water. It is all crumbly and falling apart and a bit hard to navigate, but with a helping hand from Dave (and me to him) we made it to the end. No one was on this the whole time we were hanging around this area, and then as soon as we walked on to it, everyone wants a turn. Sigh.

If it had been warmer, I would have stuck my feet in the water. And possibly grown extra toes. Lake Ontario is mad polluted. Which sucks.

Ah yes, the whole reason we wanted to come to the Island, to see the super old lighthouse. I knew that it wouldn’t be open to the public to go inside (it’s haunted!), but I was holding out a tiny bit of hope that someone would have left it unlocked by accident.

Of course it was locked. Sigh.

I gave it the old college try. Believe me, I did.

Stinky locked lighthouse.

Aww. All is forgiven.

We didn’t want to leave. But the sun was starting to go down and I wanted a burger. We had been walking ALL day and I was starving like a man.

On the ferry, on the way back.

City skylines are more beautiful to me than nature. Just my opinion.

Oh, and you best believe I devoured a delicious burger. We walked for another hour to get to a really yummy joint, and they did not disappoint. Signs of a good one: dirty burger hands. I have been dreaming of this burger ever since. Big Smoke Burger all the way! I recommend the Spicy Burger. Gaahhhhh…..

And that was the end of our island adventure. Until next year.

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Saturday night Chinatown walk

TCL Flickr Pool — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:50:28 +0000

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…

TCL Flickr Pool — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:50:32 +0000

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Mental Health Day

Katherine — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:50:32 +0000

Now that looks like a girl who needs coffee. Last Friday I took the day off of work so that I could gallivant around the city with Dave. He had never been to Toronto Island before, so seeing that it was a GORGEOUS day out there, it was the destination of choice for the day.

Am I looking at you, or at the corner of the ceiling? Who knows?

April O’ Neil, Channel 3 Eyewitness News. Want to know my secret desire? To be the leader of the Foot Clan. I would kick ass, don’t EVEN deny it.

Dave trying to ‘teach’ me how to aim a camera. My face says it all. What’s with guys? Please teach me how to use that electronic device! I don’t know how, as I am a girl and scared.

And then I burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all.

I am aiming here, is it ok?

What an awesome day. We could not have asked for more beautiful weather to enjoy the Island. Look at dem crows feet! Smile eyes is my new PC term for eye wrinkles. I also have a PC term for gray hair: BRIGHT HAIR. Isn’t that brilliant? Even better is my sister’s best friend’s term: ARCTIC HIGHLIGHTS. OMG!! I bust a gut every time. Also I am an idiot. PC terms for wrinkles and hair?

Teeny tiny amongst the green. Soon enough it will be all white.

Shit. Can I look any more Macedonian? Fresh off the boat.

I love the streetcar. WAY more than the subway. It looks dark because we were underground (on the streetcar) at that moment. So there you have it, the most uninteresting thing I have ever said. Right there, on paper.

Love my lemon tea. It is very rare to see me without one.

China town! I love exploring this place. Actually, I need some lemon balm, or kava kava. Fights against anxiety and stress. Also, helps in concentration. I need these. Most likely I will find them here.

The Harbourfront. I am not changing the ‘U’ in harbour even though I am getting the squiggly lines. You can walk for miles along the harbour front and there are always awesome things to do in the Summer: free concerts, boat cruises, delicious restaurants, art exhibits…you name it. Love it here.

I would love to travel and work on deck on this thing for a while. I think since I want to join a circus, this would satisfy that itch for a bit.

Look at how freaking high. You know you can do a CN Tower EdgeWalk these days right? Yeah ok. I would barf up my soul, die, do a little jig, and then die again.

On the way to the ferry. It’s the best part of the Island. Worth it just to ride the ferry there and back.

This little area right before you go into the loading zone on the ferry docks will always remind me of concerts past. I have been to many shows on the island and the shuffle step of hundreds of people piling out of here at once is all too familiar.

Me, at 50. It’s ok, it’s the squinting. Speaking of me in the future and/ or past, I received an email from ‘No Sender’ dated December 31, 1969 and I told Dave it was me from the future, where I traveled back to the past, trying to send myself a message in the future. Turns out it was just a weird iPhone glitch. Sure. So they SAY.

Yay the ferry! Life jackets galore! This is good. Very good. Dave can’t swim.

Have I said this before? I effing love this city. If I linked back to every blog post where I said that, it would be a lot of links. The city of Toronto should pay me to be their spokesperson. I think there are two types of people who live in this city: the type that live here and never leave their homes and therefore hate it, and then the type to explore it and really get out of it what it has to offer. I happen to love it because I know what’s out there, already discovered and yet to discover.

Ahhh, the tranquility and nature of the island. Damn. There is a waiting list to live here you know. For a reason, as you can see.

We sat down to enjoy a picnic lunch by the water but the wasps were out of control. It’s October already! Go to sleep! The warm weather we have been experiencing has tricked them into staying awake longer. They are all dopey and therefore desperate. Which scares me a little bit. I have been stung a gazillion times before, and I think I might be getting more allergic. Does that make sense?

Autumn has barely touched the trees here.

Why do I look so awkward here?

There, that’s better. Much more natural.

Be back with part deux lickety split!

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DSC_7004

TCL Flickr Pool — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:50:56 +0000

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Type Books Queen West

TCL Flickr Pool — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:42:42 +0000

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Who Let the Sickness In?

Katherine — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:50:46 +0000

Guess what I did on Friday night?

I went bowling. It was Jess’s birthday on Wednesday (Happy Birthday Jessi!) and she wanted to go bowling. So we saved it for Friday and off we went. It was good too, because the week I had had made me want to throw things into other things and knock everything down.

There just might be a few people at my work place who drive me insane. Not going to go into why, just know that if you took everything that irritates you in the world and times’d it by a million, that’s how much these people irritate me. I ran out of there at 6PM like my ass was on fire because I needed to down the biggest beer I could find. Did that, and felt much better.

I won at losing. I choose to see the glass half full, thank you.

I love people watching at bowling alleys. You get all kinds. Apparently Friday night is date night. There was an older couple beside us that kept full on making out EVERY SINGLE TIME THEY HIT A PIN. Hey, I am not one to poo poo a cute love fest, but when you are practically taking each other’s clothes off, it’s time to leave and move on to the next part of the date man.

And then a young couple took their place once the older couple left to go bowling in bed, and you could tell it was the first date for them. SO AWKWARD. She kept doing this weird little dance every time she hit a few pins and he kept ignoring her and texting someone else. HE WILL DO THAT TO YOU FOR THE ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP, SO GET OUT NOW. Aren’t I just a dear Abby tonight?

Crazy face! I was drunk here. I was drowning my work woes, along with the fact that I was starting to feel crappy (and the full on sick hit me when the beer wore off), and the fact that it was FREEZING outside. Raining and windy and really, really cold. I felt winter in my bones people. Tonight is going to feel like -1 degree Celsius (30F). Brrr….so what do you guys say? Snow Watch 2011? Is it on?

These lights kept tripping me out. I kept seeing them out of the corner of my eye and I kept thinking that bowling balls were flying at my head. I kept ducking. A cool combo of the beer and my sick, spaced out brain was causing me to be delusional.

This is awesome, I know.

And then we stole someone else’s bowling thingy. I was Betty. That means I am hot.

On the way home, we decided to stop into a convenience store and pick up some ‘food’. I had to take a picture of this box of Cornflakes that was on the shelf because it is CREEPY. That kid is less cutesy and more Gage from Pet Semetary. How old is this box? Or is Kellogg’s (my nickname in high school) doing a throwback to the 60′s?

This hot dog was the only thing I wanted today. And then it made me want to barf.

I woke up today feeling like ass. Thanks people in the office who all got sick! I thought I would be able to fight this one off, but nope. My sore throat kept waking me up in the middle of the night. That only happens when I am really sick. I won’t go down easily though…vitamin C, echinacea, garlic pills and lots of herbal tea are my soldiers.

Sometimes when I am sick and delirious, I wear a bag on my head. Because that is how awesome I feel.

Look at this freaking cat. Cool way to sit. Her paws could punch you out.

I went and helped my sister at her new place today. I was supposed to help her move and it didn’t happen. She told me not to worry about it and just come by to help her later, so I did. Well, I didn’t so much help as stare at things and breath deep overwhelmed sighs all evening long. I would open a box, sort of shuffle the contents with my finger and decide it was too hard to sort through. This is what being sick does to me, I can’t deal. Normally I plow through shit until it’s done.

So tonight is all about my fuzzy slippers and video games. That is pumpkin beer you see there as well. I tried to drink it and just couldn’t stomach it.

I look like an old person who has never played video games before. ”Oh ok, like this deah?”.

Sunday’s agenda consists of coffee, bacon and eggs, a new book and pajamas all day. It’s going to be cold and rainy…a perfect day to stay inside.

Happy rest of your weekend!

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Changes

Katherine — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:50:44 +0000

Do you guys remember the feeling when your life changed? Not in a bad way or anything, but in a big way. For instance, my sister is moving to the city, and my parents are moving away. Not too far, only two hours or so, but they will be gone…off doing their own thing and having fun in their retirement years (thank god! It’s about time). I guess it’s just weird because my entire family will be spread out now. We are all going our own ways in life, and although we will see each other often, it just feels…strange. Maybe it’s the fact that I will never visit Orangeville again after Thanksgiving (my parents move afterwards) and I have lived/ gone back there since I was 11-years-old. So yeah, changes. Good ones, but changes nonetheless.

So, moving means helping with things. Things like painting and lifting. When my sister found her place here in the city, of course I offered to help her paint before she moved in. So that is what my Saturday consisted of…painting like a machine.

Before pictures: awesome white walls. My sister is going to kill me when she sees I posted this picture of her. I don’t know why…she looks great. Ready to paint!

I love how bright it is. It reminds me of mine and Dave’s old apartment. We miss that place like crazy!

My mouth is full of crackers. That is all we ate. We painted for 6 hours non-stop and all we ate was a mouthful of crackers. We barely drank a thing either, too busy to think about it I guess. Painting takes a lot out of you man. By the time we called it quits for the day we were tired, sore and covered in layers of paint. We decided on the easiest option when it came to food: McDonalds. I was getting all aggravated that EVERYONE was staring at us when we walked in there, and then I was like ‘oh right, we are sweaty and covered from head to toe in paint’. Sexy.

Look at that awesome neutral tan colour! It looks gorgeous!

Grey for the bedroom. I love this colour for a bedroom.

It was fucking HOT. So much for Fall weather, it was stifling that day. My hair was dripping wet (yeah, awesome) with sweat. It was brutal. I kept looking longingly outside, wishing I was out there with a cold lemonade, watching OTHER people paint my sister’s place.

I had to get as much window time as I could. I needed to cool down for a few minutes before tackling the next wall.

Look at my hair. It was curling and starting to frizz from the heat and my sweatiness. Are you guys grossed out yet that I keep talking about how sweaty I was?

After a long, hard day of just getting it all done, no talking, no complaining, my sister whined at convinced me to go back to Orangeville with her to party with her friends that night.

We got to my parents house at around 8:30 that evening, moaned a whole lot about our different aches and pains, and then decided to just go to bed. HA! We are such party animals. I crashed. HARD.

So the next day at my folks’ house, I was looking around and thinking that I would only ever come back here one more time when we all gather for Thanksgiving, and then that’s it. But I want to let you guys in on a secret: THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY.

I hated Orangeville when we first moved there when I was a kid. And the hate NEVER WENT AWAY. Now, I hope that my Orangeville friends who read this don’t get offended, but it just never grew on me. We moved there from a much bigger city (it’s a really small town) and I was always an outsider. I was glad to leave it myself, first for university, and then for good when I moved to Toronto 6 years ago. I have always said that I thought Orangeville was built over a giant Indian burial ground, and if any of you watch horror movies, you know what that means.

Anyway, my point is that I decided to take some pictures of my parents disorganized and in the middle of a move house. Cool?

So my father is obsessed with plants.

He also built this fireplace and mantel himself. Well, the fireplace was already there, he just made it pretty all around.

I love my parents bedroom. It has windows like this on every wall. I used to wait at this window for my ex boyfriend to pick me up to go out and I would sigh impatiently and be incredibly annoyed because he was always late. Yeah, that went on for years. Now I am always late.

Jacuzzi bathtub in the middle of the room. I am definitely going to miss that.

The drive. Ha! As if we are dignitaries.

Oh look! It’s my parents pooch Chivas. Yeah, after the scotch. Love this little guy.

Oh and look! It’s the lawn where…yeah, I never did anything on this lawn ever. Nary a cartwheel or a hill roll.

This guy is the love of my life. His name is Felix, and he is a hundred years old (if you couldn’t tell). He is the sweetest guy and he own my heart…he has lived a long, eventful life and I think time for him has slowed down as much as it will. He is living out the rest of his days in patches of sunshine, eating the dog’s food. No one shoos him away from it because, well, look at him. You can almost see Death grinning on his shoulder.

My dad built this ramp for our potbelly pig, Priscilla. She was really big and fat and couldn’t walk down stairs so he built her a ramp into the backyard where she could dig up the grass as much as she wanted to. She lived in the house and so would whine to go out, just like a dog. Pigs are smart. I miss that fat piggy, she was a funny girl. I was telling a story today about how she ate the pepper spray out of my purse. Just chomped right on down and busted the canister and ate it. That was AFTER she sprinkled it on my books, bedspread and whatever else was on the floor in my bedroom. Because she ate all those things too. No we didn’t eat her, but that day I wanted to!

My sweet old guy.

Peekaboo!

Sunday we went back to Krista’s new place and did it all again. Needless to say, I was pretty wiped by Sunday night. As you can tell by the amazing picture below. At least I am clean in it. Wait, no, I’m not.

This Saturday, it’s moving day! Guess who got suckered into helping?

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Infinity…

TCL Flickr Pool — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:47:02 +0000

Froz’n Motion / Cameron MacMaster has added a photo to the pool:

Upward looking at the New City Hall Tower, Nathan Phillips Square, downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Getting Souzed

Katherine — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:06:01 +0000

Last night Dave and I went out with our friends Di and James. Love them HARD. Sounds perverted. It is.

We started out at our local hole in the wall, hanging out on the patio, but Di knew that if she got a few drinks in me that she could drag my ass elsewhere. Which is what ended up happening. We hopped in a cab and she took us to one of her many amazing discoveries, Souz Dal.

This place is super dark, all candlelit and inviting. I can imagine walking by on a blistery winter night and wanting to nip in for something to warm your bones. In other words, awesome.

Di was like, whoa scary face! And of course I had to post it. That’s not a scary face, that’s my real face. I walk around looking psycho surprised at all times. And Dave looks timid and hunched over, like I am about to hurt him. Again.

There you go. Dave looks no different.

Seriously, love these two like family.

Inside of the bar. Dark and lovely. The bartendress was amazing and sweet. She also almost spilled Glenlivet on me, which made me like her more. Because that’s something I would do. One time I worked in a restaurant and spilled an entire large coke on a guy’s lap. I was so apologetic and instantly dropped to me knees to clean things up that he found me endearing. He even left me a big tip. SOME people in this world are pretty cool.

Di ordered me a martini based on the fact that the name of it sounds the same as a map in Call of Duty. THIS IS WHY I LOVE HER.

Oh my god. There was a fortune cookie in my drink. It’s these kinds of things that make me love life.

We went out on the patio so Di could breath in some fresh air (hmmmm) and I loved it. It’s like a little mini haven out there. It was FREEZING last night. Like, close to 0 degrees Celsius. Really close. Until your body gets used to it there is a lot of shivering and chattering of teeth and solidarity with strangers who smile and give you understanding looks. I don’t even remember when it went from hot to cold. It just happened overnight. There was no easing into it, and now the cold feels normal. Sigh. I know winter is coming because I turn into a ravenous bear who needs to eat everything in sight. As soon as I take the last bite of a meal my belly is rumbling for the next. Can’t wait to hibernate.

Got home kind of late, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get up. I was really tired but I did it. We watched some t.v. when we got home before we went to bed and it was so cold in our apartment that I couldn’t concentrate on what we were watching. I just wanted to crawl under the covers.

See? Mittens. And a scarf. Currently my fingers are screaming at me because they are too cold to move limberly across the keys.

Trees are still green, but they are dull. So many of them have already starting turning.

Aww yeah. That’s my taking a shit face. Just kidding. It would be weird to constantly smile while you took a poop.

With the cold weather comes the slippery elm. Lozenges for a sore throat. They are nature’s gentle lubricant after all. Pervy. Do you think that 15 people sat around a boardroom thinking up a slogan and when one guy was like, “I’ve got it! Nature’s Gentle Lubricant!”, everyone giggled behind their hands but no one said anything because they didn’t want to seem immature? I probably would have said something.

I like the dainty lace sleeves.

I was like, ‘give me sexy Dave!’. Sigh…he is a natural.

Speeeaaaking of sexay….

HOT. SHIT.

After work I was like time for a hot chocolate. Fall Watch 2011 has revealed more evidence of leaves changing colour. Do you see them poking out there?

Ok, so maybe I wasn’t fully awake when I got dressed this morning. Striped green shirt, flowery brown socks and plaid shoes??? Well….whatever it kind of works. In an eccentric crazy person kind of way. One time I was downtown and I was wearing crazy socks with my crazy flats and I heard someone say, “I LOVE your sock and shoe combination!” and when I looked up to say thank you I saw that it was a crazy eccentric hippie woman with wild hair wearing all the colours of the rainbow.

Goodbye sun. You were strong for months, and now it’s time to rest.

So we went to a well known coffee shop for the hot chocolate. A place that rhymes with BARFUCKS. I took a picture of these neat thingies hanging on the wall and the girl behind the counter was like, “Uhhh..you are not allowed to take pictures. BARFUCKS WILL SUE YOU.” Ok, first of all, I am an asshole teenager in my way of thinking, and you just told me NOT to do something. This means I am most likely going to go ahead and do it. She went on and on about policy and the website and blah blah crap blah, and I was like, “Cool. How corporate”. And the guy next to her was trying to reason with her inane chatter, and she kept going on and on. Whatever.

Haha! Seriously. How do my parents put up with me?

Oh but that salted caramel goodness is hard to stay mad at. I got lactose free milk (lactose intolerance what what?!) and it still killed me. Like, in an intense way. What does this mean? I am being serious here…if anyone knows the answer to this please let me know. I saw him use lactose free milk, so that is not the answer lazy asses.

Fun times. I have a busy weekend planned, a FUN busy weekend that I can’t wait for. So stay tuned for that! We have to make the most of these snow free weekends while we can!

Have a great Friday night!

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Reflections…

TCL Flickr Pool — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:52:37 +0000

Froz’n Motion / Cameron MacMaster has added a photo to the pool:

The sky high above The Atrium on Bay building, corner of Bay and Dundas, downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com

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The Taxi…

TCL Flickr Pool — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:51:59 +0000

Froz’n Motion / Cameron MacMaster has added a photo to the pool:

A Beck’s Taxi zooms through the intersection at Yonge & College.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com

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The Ritz Carlton

TCL Flickr Pool — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:50:05 +0000

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Looking straight up at the new Ritz Carlton Hotel (on the left) on Front Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com

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Maroon 5 in Toronto

TCL Flickr Pool — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:50:58 +0000

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freeze! don’t move.

TCL Flickr Pool — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 19:50:43 +0000

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s i d e w a l k . s o m e r s a u l t s

TCL Flickr Pool — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 18:50:09 +0000

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I See A Boring Blog Post

Katherine — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 16:50:31 +0000

That’s supposed to be like, “I see dead people”, from the Sixth Sense. Ugh. I am not funny. I know.

It’s been a SLOOOOOW week in bloggieville. Sorry about that. Insert whatever you think may be wrong with me here……..and sure, that’s what it is.

I have been a tired sack of shit. That is what’s really wrong. My own fault. Very much so. I am a child who doesn’t want to go to bed, who needs one more drink of water, who REALLY has to pee this time. So yeah….tired sack.

Which is going to get me in big shit at work, because I am late EVERYDAY. Not like, 5 minutes late. More like half an hour to an hour late. I was improving for a while there because a few weeks ago I got in serious shit for the same problem. Now, I am back to being a delinquent. Sigh….some people aren’t cut out for desk jobs you know? I may be late everyday, but I stay for my 8 hours and I am exceptional at my job…so cut me some fucking slack. Frigging suits.

Anyway, this is me making love to my tea. I hate the term ‘making love’. It’s so gross and perverted.

My mouth in this picture reminds me of when I was 11 and I got braces. You know that weird, there-is-something-too-big-in-my-mouth-and-its-making-my-upper-lip-stick-out look. Oh my god. That sentence is dirty. Anyway, I had crazy brace face for a while at first. Think Katy Perry in that Last Friday Night video.

For like, FOUR HOURS today I was sweating like a fucking pig at my desk, falling asleep, feeling woozy. I kept asking myself why I was so freaking hot, wondering if I had a fever. I finally thought to get up and check the thermostat and someone had turned it up to NINETY DEGREES. Who the? What the? WHY THE? It is August? Not sure I understand. And of course when I questioned the people who work down there about it, NO ONE KNEW WHO DID IT. Of course. It’s the same mysterious creature who forgets to replace the toilet paper roll in the bathroom, who throws paper towels on the floor, and who leaves every single light on, We will name him LIAR.

I am dirty garbage chic right now. Too effing lazy to remove my chipped nail polish. I really am Kato circa 1991.

My sister bought me a Fossil clutch. Can’t wait for the Fall so I can bust this thing out.

TIIIIIRRREEEDDDD.

So alright. Some randomness thrown into the post. Our bedroom is COLD people. And I don’t mean brrr. I mean uninviting. Not comfortable. Something needs to be done about this ASAP.

I have decided that this space here needs to be turned into a walk-in closet for yours truly. This is the best idea I have ever had.

Oh shit! Look who it is in the monkey pajamas! You know I want a walk in closet to store all my pjs right?. Ha! Just kidding.

Not many places to put our furniture, as the walls are all slanty. This bed frame HAS to go. It’s way too bulky for this room. We need to go back to basics and buy something that places our bed as close to the floor as possible, as we have figured out that we don’t like grown up high up beds. I think Ikea is the way to go.

The garbage corner, AKA Dave’s corner. Where dead and dying stuff accumulates and never leaves. WHY? WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS BOYS?

My grandfather’s dresser, most likely dated from the 1800s. It’s crazy falling apart on the inside. I have had it for 20 years. Getting my clothes into and out of it is a huge feat. This also needs to be replaced. If my mom is feeling sentimental she can take it back and it can continue to rot in her house.

AHH! And then the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!! Litter boxes in the bedroom. I mean, they are necessary when you have cats, but I wish they were more self sufficient then just shitting on some rocks in a box. At least the room is quite big and they are pushed in a corner. We scoop them almost everyday, because who wants to smell cat poop when you are sleeping? We need to come up with a solution here as well, where you can’t see them. Put up a room divider or something. Something pretty and flowery.

Look…I made the picture pink so that you wouldn’t be too grossed out. I am a saint.

Oh right. I had a point to this post, somewhere. So yesterday I took the day off work because I wasn’t feeling well, and from the time I woke up to around 2AM the next morning, Toronto was under a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch. We had the weather network on all day following the storm and making sure that we weren’t going to be hit with some craziness. We ended up with just a big storm and a scary light show.

I am pretty terrified of lightening, so I was definitely facing a fear by doing this. I was clutching the camera in my hands in a death grip, thinking the entire time that I was going to be struck at any moment. You can see towards the end of the video a particularly violent fork of lightening zigzag across the sky, and I quickly pull away from the window. Haha! Such a baby.

The shittier version of the video above.

Coolness. I hope you all enjoyed this shiteous post.

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ROM Edge View…

TCL Flickr Pool — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 14:50:03 +0000

Froz’n Motion / Cameron MacMaster has added a photo to the pool:

Side view of the ROM Crystal, downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com

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Only in Toronto!

TCL Flickr Pool — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:42:22 +0000

PearldotKom has added a photo to the pool:

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Oakley and the compassionate tat

Patrick — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:44:55 +0000

So there’s this guy I’ve been chatting with on Twitter over the last couple of days named Troy Oakley (@OakleyInc) who convinced me that maybe, just maybe, not all conservatives are heartless jerks.

Okay, so it might seem like I’m name dropping here — Troy did after all manage to land country-wide headlines today over this little bit of body art:

…but that’s not the case. You see, our discussion started around the awful direction that the conservatives seem to be heading in in this country. Everyone from Rob Ford to Steven Harper come across as callous axe-wielding maniacs bent on destroying every vestige of humanity in this great country.

Then, almost as if by magic, Troy stepped out of the Twitterverse and agreed with me, all the while claiming he was also a conservative. He even admired the recently departed Jack Layton of the NDP party (the mainstream Commies of the Canadian political spectrum) — someone almost anathema to the Progressive Conservatives.

I was, like, come again?

Yup, seems like you can still believe in not wasting money, being responsible, and all that other stuff without being a bloodthirsty bureaucrat. In fact, the final words Layton wrote as he was on his deathbed resonated with Troy so much that he had them tattooed on his arm. And I gotta say, despite being generally averse to marking up my own flesh, this is something I could never fault anyone for etching on their skin. Beats the hell out of meaningless Chinese symbols or fancy geometric patterns.

And holy fuck if it doesn’t give me hope for the future.

If you happen to be around tonight, tune in to Newstalk 1010 at around 9:45 to hear an interview with Troy, or just pick up a paper tomorrow and read about how the world may not quite be ready to go to hell in a hand basket just yet.

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Only in Toronto!

TCL Flickr Pool — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:50:09 +0000

PearldotKom has added a photo to the pool:

The Trash Art @ Kensington

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behind the fence..

TCL Flickr Pool — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:58:22 +0000

PearldotKom has added a photo to the pool:

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Toronto Skyline at Night

TCL Flickr Pool — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:09:18 +0000

hotashi.shutterbug has added a photo to the pool:

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Everyday is An Adventure in Kato Land: 2

Katherine — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:50:16 +0000

To read part one, go here.

It was wonderful to wander around this place while it was pouring rain outside. People work and study here and there was a nice feeling of happy busyness. Someone was practicing piano elsewhere in the building and you could hear it throughout. Such a lovely place.

I used the castle-like facilities too. Thankfully the toilets were not medieval, they were the modern kind. The door into the washroom on the other hand, was heavy wood with iron embellishments all over it. Very cool. The castle-y windows were flung wide open too, so everyone outside got to listen to my business. Sweet.

There were huge red flower on this tree. I thought they were fake at first, they were almost too pretty.

Continuing with our walking. We walked for SIX HOURS, almost straight. My hips hurt when I got into bed later that night. But it’s alright, the hurt of exercise is always welcome. Uhhhhh…..sure.

Had a picture taken with the MADD crew here back in May, for the Toronto Marathon walk that Dave and I took part in.

He just takes it when I do this to him all day long. Look at him, he has gone to his happy place.

Waiting out another rain storm.

Look at that Macedonian profile! That was a nice way of saying I have a huge honker. It’s cool. When I am old and I look like a witch it will suit me just fine. I plan on being the cantankerous scary old woman on the block. Kids will whisper about me and I won’t give them their balls back when they throw them over my fence. In fact, I will squish their balls. What’s a good witch-y name for me? ‘Say Goodbye to Your Balls’ Kato. You guys know I am talking about tennis balls and soccer balls, right?

I like it! Bixi Toronto bike sharing. This city freaking rocks.

The Royal Ontario Museum. Interesting building no?

Yellow bike! The third in the series!

Oh man I was starving at this point. All I wanted was a fat hamburger and french fries. And a beer.

Hey all you dudes out there, I finally bought the Justin Bieber nail polish I wanted by O.P.I. This is all thanks to Ms. Raymi and her fabulous freaking nails over at Raymi the Minx. I must give credit where credit is due. She wore the baby blue color (called ‘Baby’….*eye roll*) over on her blog and I fell in love with it. Apparently Shoppers Drug Mart can’t sell the actual O.P.I. collection in their stores? So they have to sell it under the guise of ‘Nicole’. Whatever. Seems weird. His face was on the bottle so I knew it was legit. Funny story about this: I was telling my friend that I asked Dave to go and buy the nail polish for me, but in order to avoid embarrassment just say that it was for his 12-year-old daughter. My friend was like, “And then he did and handed it over to you…his 12-year-old girlfriend”. Fuck you! Ha! I didn’t actually force him to buy it for me.

Oh yeah, I also bought the ghetto version of crackle. I’ll let you know how this one goes.

Not very impressed by my brick burger. EASY ON THE GRILLING TIME BUDDY!

On our travels home we passed my old work place, St. Anthony’s elementary school. I worked in the behavioral classroom here as an EA. So essentially I did everything, because that’s what Educational Assistant’s do. The teacher’s don’t want to handle the kids because of their ‘issues’, so that is where I came in. I loved those kids though man. I was behavioral when I was younger, so I understood them. I didn’t quit this job because of the kids, believe me. I quit because of the adults. The teachers, in case you didn’t catch my drift.

Look there’s me! Something ate everyone else’s face. The little kid on the right was my first project when I started the job. VERY behavioral, to the point where I didn’t know what to do with him. But we learned together. I cried when I walked away from that place, specifically because of him.

I didn’t even have to yell at those kids. I would just give them ‘the look’. They backed down right away. They also thought I was super cool and they all loved me. I broke them down when I played hacky sack with them in the park once.

I used to exercise on these stairs. They are brutal.

BRUTAL!

West Toronto Railpath.. A must see if visiting Toronto!

There was a storm a-brewing.

Nice.

Even better.

Towards work.

Towards home.

Let’s try to beat this storm (we did).

Try to have a mini adventure this weekend everyone! That is what life is all about!

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Everyday is An Adventure in Kato Land

Katherine — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:50:03 +0000

This past Monday, I had an appointment at the hospital for my 4 times a year check up with my hematologist. No biggie, just a standard check in. I have a wonky blood disease thing going on (have had it since birth, hereditary shit, THANKS DAD, brother has it too), and I just have to make sure all my levels are, well…level.

I had to go to work for a few hours before hand, and then rush off downtown to make sure that all was well in this here bod. Of course, Dave being the sweet gentleman that he is, came with me to my appointment, even though he really doesn’t like hospitals.

Walking to work that morning, it was beautiful.

Looking back at this picture later that day, Dave said I was grumpy here. I responded with “I WAS NOT GRUMPY!”, and then I punched him in the face. Just kidding.

Oh hey! Who’s this boy you are taking a picture of?? Why….it’s ME! Sometimes if I don’t do my hair right, I look like someone who yodels and wears lederhosen.

Yeah like this guy.

Fig.1

Or him. Which is fine with me. OMG guyz, I have the same haircut as He-man. “By the power of Greyskull!”.

Fig.2

There’s those pink camouflage nails again!

At the hospital, waiting to do my blood tests. This day was fantastic because usually I am there for 4-5 hours doing tests and whatnot, but on this particular day, it was barely an hour! Fantastic!

Sweet guy…he always comes with me. I would be incredibly bored without him.

This wall in the waiting area is neat. It is a wall made of ceramic tiles that depict different medicinal herbs. I like. Must have taken forever to create.

Haha! Blood tests are done! I have to warn the nurses every time that my veins are a) non-existent, and b) covered in scar tissue (which makes me look a bit like a heroin addict). Therefore, neither option is good, but some like one better than the other. The nurse who worked on me that day was a PRO. She picked scar tissue veins.

Dave trying to teach me about the macro setting on my camera. Yeah thanks Dave, I had NOOOOO idea. Sigh.

And now on to the better part of the day. The part where we got out of there early and decided to go on an adventure! We booked it in the opposite direction to see where life would take us. Pretty…kind of sums up our life together nicely, that line does.

Hogwarts Hart House at the University of Toronto. We had never been there before. So we decided to wander around inside for a while.

Honestly!!! Did we stumble into a Harry Potter vortex? Because this room reminded me A LOT of Hogwarts. So awesome!

This is me, doing magic. I am a good magic doer.

And then I decided to do some ballet? That’s a pretty rad plie I am pulling off.

See? Hogwarts! We spied some winding stairs off to the side that led up to Dumbledore’s office! For some reason I was talking about sherbert lemon sweets and these stairs appeared. Weird!

Note the hair. Refer back to fig. 1 above.

In the winding stairs stairwell.

Hilarious.

Every single door in this place was awesome. So mysterious and castle-like. You never knew where they would lead.

Like this one that led down a winding staircase. Into what sounded like a basketball court.

Haha! Fally.

And then there were bricked up doorways. I am sure this one led to torturous dungeons at one point in time. Why ELSE would it be bricked up? It’s to try and forget the horrors that took place there, many years ago. Right??

You guys have NO IDEA how many pictures I have of Dave standing behind an alter of some sort, doing this. Sigh.

Purple for royalty. I like the colors in this room.

It started raining while we were exploring, which only added to the castle vortex feel even more.

Part deux coming up!

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Indulgence

Katherine — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 01:50:13 +0000

Since I deemed 2011 as ‘The Year of Me’, I have been pushing myself to embrace this and focus on myself more. Sounds selfish, I know. I feel selfish sometimes. But I also think that once you have been in a relationship for a long time, some people lose their identity and you become more of ‘a couple’ and no longer an individual. In a lot of ways, I love being a couple. But in other ways, I like being me, and doing things JUST for me. Stuff that I would do for myself when I was single, and not always thinking of the ‘other half’. It’s important. Some may call it selfish. I call it NECESSARY.

And this is why I have been going out more with friends, and being silly and buying too much nail polish and FAR too much jewellery. Because these are things that make me feel as if I am spoiling myself, and it makes me happy!

Like sitting on rooftop patios and drinking beer at sunset with amazing friends. What’s not to love about this scenario?

Aquila has an amazing rooftop patio, and they make deee-liscious ribs. No joke. Check it out if you are in the Junction!

Had to cut Ms. Jessica out of the picture. She doesn’t like her picture being taken, and right now, I must honour her wishes. Look at how lazy I was…too lazy to put my sweater on the right way.

Tonight we ordered in. I got home from work late and I am sleepy, so we indulged and ordered Vesuvio’s! Yum! Honestly, we have such great restaurants in our hood. We are lucky.

I had a boner for this necklace as soon as I saw it. Again, Curious Oddities, my favourite jewellery designer EVER. I saw it a little over a week ago when I had no money and essentially kissed it goodbye. I went in again today and was looking for something else to appease my addiction, and after looking forever, saw MY necklace tucked away in a hidden spot! Woohoo! Kat, you are going to be rich because of me.

Those are pink camouflage nails, yes.

It works too!

Sigh, so pretty. I belong on a pirate ship.

And then I bought some Sugar Rush rings. One for me, one for my sister. They are the same ring, just opposite colours. Love them!

Cool price tags.

And then my dinner came. All I wanted was something to nibble on, so I ordered the antipasto. So delicious. Olives, sharp cheese (and bocconcini), roasted red peppers, zucchini, salami, prosciutto, and a glass of wine. The wine didn’t come with the delivery. I wish.

It has been an indulgent day folks! But again, every once in a while it’s ok. In fact, you should partake in a few indulgences! Think of it as necessary for your health. You wouldn’t want to be un-healthy would you?

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I Must Be Psychic

Katherine — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:01:57 +0000

Last week I was lamenting the fact that I haven’t relaxed in 3000 years. You know, relaxing? That thing you do where you just go home after work, make a light dinner and watch a movie? Oh you DO know?

I DON’T.

So when I had an epiphany which told me that NOTHING pressing had to be done after work one day, and I COULD just sit on my ass for an evening, I grabbed on to that thought and held on for dear life.

How dumb was I when I jokingly said to Dave that day, “Bet you a million dollars something comes up tonight that prevents us from relaxing”.

“What could possibly come up?”.

SIGH.

We were FIVE MINUTES from home when we spotted a little dog lying in the grass on the lawn of a school. I went up to pet the little guy and noticed that something was wrong with him. He wasn’t moving his back legs and he was whimpering.

INSTANT HEARTBREAK.

After sticking around for 15 minutes and asking countless people if they knew who’s dog it was (no one did), and after calling the Humane Society (no help there) a man came along, saw the poor dog, picked him up and said he would take him to the Humane Society himself.

He asked us to go along with him, as someone would need to hold the dog. Of course, being upset about the little guy and wanting to make sure he was okay, we said yes.

After driving ALL the way across the city, I started to panic. I mean, there ARE crazy people all over the place, and was it possible that we were in a psycho’s car at that very moment? My anxiety brain starting running all these scenarios around of my imminent death, and I starting hyperventilating and almost pooped my pants. I frantically tried to think of how I could safely call 9-1-1, or jump out of the car (I couldn’t leave Dave…he heads toward his doom, I do too). I actually started convincing myself that this guy PUT this crippled dog in that spot to lure nice, animal loving people like us into his car, to drive them across the city to an abandoned industrial area, and to gleefully kill.

Oh look, we were driving towards an abandoned-looking industrial area at that moment…commence shitting in my pants. I was trying to read Dave’s expression in the front seat, and he was starting to look panicked himself. Oh my god….

Long story short, the guy was a super nice guy. Goes by the name of Mario. Because I have a penchant for nicknames, his name is Mario the Serial Killer.

Anyway, back to the dog. The sweet little pup. Turns out he wasn’t hurt at all…he was crippled and had no use of his back legs. The Humane Society that we took him to was closed and they didn’t accept strays anyway. I called Animal Control and they told me that someone had to keep him until morning until Animal Control opened, and then to bring him there. WHERE THEY WOULD MOST LIKELY PUT HIM TO SLEEP. Ummmm…..NO.

We agreed that Mario the Serial Killer would keep the dog overnight and then he would decide what to do the next day. He said he most likely would just take the dog to a vet and pay the expenses himself, and then keep the dog. Did I mention he was a perfectly nice guy? Breathe Katherine…

At one point I asked, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we drove back to the spot we found him and his owners were looking for him?”. Mario the Serial Killer responded with, “No one leaves their crippled dog on a school lawn to cry like that. No one with a heart anyway”.

For some reason I had a nagging pull to call Animal Control back. I did, and they asked me if I was holding a Jack Russell terrier who happened to not have any use of his back legs? Uhhhh…..YES!

Yeah…..his owners were looking for him. Psychic or what?

We returned the dog (his name is Zac!) to his parents (who I still think are GIANT douchebags for leaving their crippled, crying dog on a lawn while they went to drink talk to the neighbors, and then we went home.

At 10 o’clock.

So much for relaxing….but at least we are still alive, right?

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Photo Dumpage: July Edition

Katherine — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:31:41 +0000

I needed to dump my pictures off my phone, so here you all are! The July edition of shitty pictures from my iPhone!

The day I got my hair cut…it was a wonderful day of swimming and wine and sunburns. And I love my hair. AND my high-wasted jeans DAVE. They DO NOT give me mom butt!

This tree is called a burning bush, or something like that. All I heard was ‘bush’ (giggle) because I am a child like that.

Oh yeah, these things. Ants. Right. Seems like every week, after garbage day, these guys show up and lap up all the spilled garbage liquid. Oh my god that is disgusting when you write it down like that. Anyway, there are hundreds of them!! All teeming and working…I fell in love with ants after watching Honey I Shrunk the Kids. When they adopt an ant and call him Anty. And then he dies for them. Sigh.

Let me give you guys some context, size-wise, here! Also, Dave likes to pet ants, did you know that? He is weird.

I screwed up my foot. Don’t listen to someone if they tell you that working out in your bare feet is the best way to do it. I was trying to be all hippie and shit, you know, paying attention to the ‘natural shock absorbers’ in my feet, being one with the earth and all. Yeah, that doesn’t happen. Instead what does happen is you wake up one morning with a fat sore foot, feeling sheepish for thinking you could possibly work out in your bare feet and remain injury free. In retrospect, there is nothing natural about a jumping jack. Glad to be of service here. Use my stupidity to avoid your own.

It was ok after a week or so. I wear shoes now.

Out one night with my sister best friend, we spotted this thing. I think it’s a bike/ music/ something or other. Creative is what it is. I love that it was just parked outside of the person’s house. How happy would you be every day riding to work in that thing?

My right arm. And leg. Love this girl. Without her I couldn’t function properly in life.

It twas a rainy evening, this twas. I was just starting to battle my month long sinus/ chest infection/ cold, so I felt pretty yucky. I just wanted to be in my pjs, watching Harry Potter. So that is what we did.

The rain un-straightened my hair.

Freaking cat.

Mmmm. Pork and beef tortiere. I just call it the yummiest thing I have ever consumed.

Dave reading the directions on the phyllo (filo) dough box for me. My baba rolled over in her grave over that one. What Macedonian needs to read directions on how to use phyllo dough? I ended up not really needing it in the end. All you really need is a lot of freaking butter and you are good to go.

I wrapped it around half a small wheel of brie. So. Effing. Good.

See? Buttered up.

Let it cool first. Don’t just rip into like we did, because we are vultures. It’s great on crackers, or just on it’s own.

Yeah, alright.

Look! It’s the pink bike!! I also have a picture of a yellow one too! Colorful Bike Watch Toronto has turned up pink, gold, and yellow so far. All in different spots in the city. Wonder what these are for?

Whoa there. Tone it down would you?

Hope you are all having a happy Tuesday!

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Real Time

Katherine — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:50:38 +0000

Been feeling out of sorts lately. No biggie, just a bit run down…indecisive. I am only indecisive when I can’t think properly because I am not getting enough sleep. This needs to be rectified.

Dave and I decided to have a low key Saturday. We could have said yes to plans from a few different friends, but I wasn’t having it. So really, I decided to have a low key Saturday (sorry Dave!).

Low key means going shopping. IN A MALL. You all must know about my undying hatred of malls by now. Why do I do this to myself? Yeah my face about sums it up.

It helped that it was such a gorgeous day. These types of days are numbered around here you know. I can already sense Autumn and it is only August.

So bright.

Of course, we went to our favourite place on this earth, Cool Hand of a Girl. Thanks for letting us barge in half an hour before closing and making us some delicious food. I love them there. Everyone needs to check this place out. West end, in the Junction. Tell them Katherine sent you. Actually…don’t. They don’t know my name.

Sigh. I hold the sight of these blue skies dear. I will have to try and conjure up this image (or I could just, you know, look at it) two months from now when the skies are always grey.

Look at how much I love him. It’s gross isn’t it?

We decided to walk home from the mall. I was all kinds of indecisive in there too. I hate being this way. But I DID decide on a great handbag and wallet. And wine. The taste tester guy was wearing converse so that sealed the deal for me. No need to tell me about the wine…you are wearing converse. I trust you. Anyone else like that, or is it just me?

Such an inviting field. And it was all locked up tight, which means there wasn’t an ounce of dog poop on the grass. Perfect for rolling around in. The grass, not the poop. Such a shame we couldn’t get in. Look at the CN Tower though right? It’s a thing of beauty. You can see it from all over on a clear day. Even by my parents house which is an hour North of Toronto.

Honestly!! Good choice on the colour scheme! Blue fence with yellow sunflowers? I want to kiss these people!

I included this blurry picture because I wanted you all to see how my jeans hang off me these days. My hard work is paying off. I shouldn’t be buying expensive bags, I should be buying myself new clothes as the ones I have all fall off me. I look frumpy. Not that I am complaining too much!

Gold bike! This won’t really make sense until I post the picture I have of the pink bike. I hope you aren’t expecting anything spectacular now, it’s just a pink bike.

Nice night for a walk.

Toronto really is a beautiful place to be.

So quiet and peaceful. Well, down there anyway. Where we were was a super busy street. But down there the crickets were so loud and it looked so inviting…I told Dave I wanted to sleep there. I don’t really, on account of rapist murderers, but it was a nice sentiment.

The candy factory! Sometimes when the wind is blowing right, the entire world smells like chocolate in this area. I knew a gentleman named Yanosh who used to come into Second Cup all the time when I worked there, and he was honestly a walking talking Willy Wonka. And guess where he worked? The candy factory! I gave him his coffee fix for free and he gave me my candy fix for free. It was a great little deal we had going there.

Cool face Dave. We are looking after my friend’s cat for a week, so before we headed home we stopped in to feed him and love him. We are watching shit on their Netflix, and we are currently watching a documentary on the complete history of the horror film. It’s really good. Lots of movies from my childhood are included in it. I learned that most little kids who watch a lot of old Disney movies usually evolve into watching horror films because old Disney movies are all fucked up and scary. This gal was a Disney gal. So that’s where my mental comes from. Hmmm.

I love their place.

Creepy. It was starting to get dark. Too lazy to get up and turn on a light. We walked for hours today.

The wine we bought. Nice label. Nice name. I wonder how many dudes buy this wine? The guy said that the name and label turn a lot of people off, but that it’s really good wine. I have had a glass already and I can say that yes, it is good wine. The label is quite interesting though…Pretty Woman wine.

I like my asshole lips in this one.

Honestly. Look at that sweet wallet. Please note that I am smiling with my eyes. Tyra Banks would call this ‘smizing’ and we all know how much of a genius she is.

Happiness. Danier leather baby. My taste is changing into a much more UN-AFFORDABLE one when it comes to handbags. This bag has a warranty on it. Please kill me now before I kill myself with crushing debt. Also, I am pretty sure this is an unacceptable face in fashion.

The loot. That card on my beautiful new bag is Dave’s PSN card. Thanks for following me around all day while I purse shopped Dave. You earned that one.

Oh and then I spied a cupcake. And my eyes got all anime big.

Food porn. Spiced cupcakes with homemade cinnamon and vanilla butter cream frosting. Gaaaaaaa….

All gone mom. I took my medicine like a good girl. I want to erase that line it sounds so perverted.

And we also bought Kernals popcorn. I am salivating thinking about it.

I wish my life was like this everyday. Surrounded by fluffy popcorn. And my stupid face.

Well folks, time to go enjoy some of that wine and eat a lot of that popcorn. I may even carry my new handbag around just for fun. It’s ok that I am in my pajamas right?

Have a great rest of your weekend!

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f r u i t . s t a n d

TCL Flickr Pool — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:50:13 +0000

angietorres has added a photo to the pool:

Mmmm. Summer harvest/night mart.

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Weekend Crazies: Part 3

Katherine — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:02:43 +0000

The moment you have all been waiting for!! Well, maybe not. But I have been waiting a long time to post it, so there’s that.

Seriously though, I am so glad I finally get to talk about this in detail, because it has been an amazing road for so many people.

Back in 2005, Dave was a recent graduate of the Toronto Film School, and he just so happened to meet a director named Darryl Shaw. Darryl was looking for a guy to do location sound for a short film of his. Dave ended up being that guy, and their relationship grew from there.

Skip to 2008: Darryl had written a masterpiece called Android Re-Enactment. Having been friends for a few years at this point, Darryl knew how talented Dave was in scoring films, and he asked him to score Android Re-Enactment. Darryl rounded up an amazing cast and crew (he directed the movie as well as wrote it), and they all took off for four months to film an awesome movie.

And here we are now. The private screening for cast, crew, family and friends was mind-blowing. Everyone involved in this film just loved it, and their enthusiasm for it rubbed off on EVERYONE lucky enough to be a part of it all on July 25th, 2011.Krista and I outside the theatre downtown. I was a big ball of nerves at this point. I was nervous for Dave because this had been three years in the making. Everyone worked their asses off to get this film out there. This was the first time that everyone (besides a few people) would be hearing Dave’s music.

Poor guy. I know how he was feeling and this picture brings me back to that moment!

Pure awesomeness. The main actor in the film wears a lab coat a lot of the time, so they had people in lab coats wandering around asking if you had taken your medicine yet. A nice touch, and fun. Totally helped draw people in more.

Oh look! John joined us, so you know the after party was a pure shit show.

Did I mention that I hadn’t watched the movie yet? I had seen bits and pieces when Dave needed an opinion on a piece he was working on, but I wanted to wait and watch it in it’s entirety, when it was all finally pulled together.

IT WAS FANTASTIC. The writing, directing, the actors, the music…I was literally BLOWN AWAY. I am not sure what my expectations were going into it, but it far surpassed anything I may have thought about how good it was. Wow. I have heard a quote again and again surrounding this movie: the little movie that could. It could, it did, and it WILL. Amazing.

Intermission. There was press waiting to hear everyone’s thoughts regarding the movie, I chickened out at the last second. Regret it. Took pictures in the bathroom instead.

After intermission there was a Q & A with the cast and crew. Dave was pretty nervous when he walked down that aisle. He didn’t need to tell me this, I could feel it from where I was sitting. I was nervous for him.

That’s Dave on the end.

Sorry for the crappy quality of the video. Dave was asked about the process he went through composing the score.

Cast and crew press pictures.

The talented writer/ director on the left, Darryl Shaw.

Good lord. Lots of people taking pictures! P.S- Dave’s brother Steve designed and drew the God in the Grass Productions logo you see behind us.

Merch. Still need to buy a shirt. Hey Darryl, make girly shirts!

After party at the Bovine Sex Club. Relax, it’s just a name. We aren’t rich yet.

We had to work the next day by the way. Didn’t get home until 3:30AM and we were up by 8:30AM. Maybe this is why I got really sick for a week afterwards?

Seriously this place.

Di you look beautiful.

It really was a shit show. Too much to drink, and fun was had by all. Everyone there loved the movie and everyone was in a great mood. The director thanked me (!!!!!) for everything. I was like, for coming? No problem! He said, “No, for supporting and being behind Dave through all this”. Something along the lines of behind every great man…well hey….no problem. Excuse me while I go blush furiously in a corner.

And now let’s get to the best part of this damn post: the trailer for Android Re-Enactment. Like it on YouTube!

Listen to Dave’s demo reel with samples from the movie! The song Golden Spiral is super catchy (Dave is singing on it!) Click on the MajorSecondMusic link to hear more. He has another song on there that he did for a show that yours truly may or may not be featured in (I am embarrassed already).

Demo Reel (Medley) by MajorSecondMusic

Golden Spiral by MajorSecondMusic

Thanks to everyone who let me be a part of this, no matter how tiny my role was. Doors are being opened and great things are coming because of this movie. Stay tuned for a release date!

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(Untitled)

TCL Flickr Pool — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:50:58 +0000

indieyuppie has added a photo to the pool:

Nikon FE2
Nikkor 50mm f1.8
Superia 100 *Expired

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Weekend Crazies: Part 2

Katherine — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:38:00 +0000

So I left off at the drive-in. A long time ago. I haven’t posted anything in a while because I have been super sick, and my best friend visited. So instead of a shit show, it was a snot show. Which is a few steps under a shit show, but still a little too much for a sick person to handle. I held in there though.

The morning after the drive-in, we got up early to drive to Brampton to visit Krista’s best friend. Who has a lovely back yard oasis with a pool. It was a beautiful day, and perfect for swimming.

In Brampton. This is where my best friend and I would hang out, get into trouble if you will, when we were just 11-years-old. Brought back a ton of memories being in this area.

The intersection where everything always went down. I realize this makes us sound like prostitutes….we weren’t, we were 11. Pervs.

One time we sat on a tombstone in this little graveyard and lit a cigarette to share. I was paranoid that my parents were going to drive by and see us and I would get into trouble, but Ciara convinced me that it wouldn’t happen…what were the odds? And then they did. Just as I took a giant drag. They waved, and I waved back with the hand holding the cigarette. Kids are real smooth.

Oh man these underground bridges. Always smelled like beer and piss. Why did we hang out here at night? Stupidest kids ever.

This McDonald’s has been here for as long as I have been on the planet. I used to spend many an evening here with Ciara, checking out the scenery if you know what I mean.

Loafers Lake community pool. Many a synchronized swim was thought up between the two of us to try and impress the 16-year-old lifeguard boys. Could you imagine? Remember back to when you were 16, and picture two 11-year-olds trying to get your attention with stupid lopsided handstands in the water. Man.

And we have arrived.

We swam for FIVE HOURS straight. I was sore the next day. I have never been sore from swimming before.

I kept reapplying every half hour. I am little paranoid about skin cancer and such.

Woohoo! Nary a burn was had (by me). My diligence paid off. Still white as a ghost, but better then a lobster right?

Heaven.

The best part, Dave’s movie screening, is coming right up! It was a blast!

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Weekend Crazies: Part 1

Katherine — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:59:28 +0000

I wanted my nails to look like a watermelon. Did I succeed? Well whatever, they still made me happy.

As do these lovely Canadian flag colored flowers.

So remember a couple of posts ago when I said I was going to trick my sister into eating some of those gross jelly beans? Yeah she fell for it. Hook, line and sinker! Dave was amazing, he was a champ at pretending that they were delicious.

HAHA!

Not impressed.

And then she passed the tradition on. Last night she found some and made her friends eat them. Sigh. I love life sometimes.

The next day we had to go to the mall. On a Saturday. Have I ever told you how much I despise malls every day of the week, but Saturday the MOST? Busy busy, people walk too slow, screaming kids, spend too much money.

But I really needed an outfit for the screening of the movie that Dave composed the score for. We were told we had to dress up. There would be press, and pictures and la-di-da.

What a gorgeous day it was. Hot though. Hankering a teeny tiny bit for Fall these days.

So this is what I bought. It’s very J-Lo no? Maybe Aladdin? I am hoping for Aladdin because I like him better than J-Lo. With a nice sweater and a pair of heels and some cute hair? Oh yeah!

RIGHT after the mall we rushed home and cooked a giant dinner and then barely took the time to taste it as we had to make the drive-in. We were going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Fin. The end. The build up to the end of this movie was killing me. I don’t want it to be over.

We had just had a storm. And it did nothing to take away the humidity. Nice night to sit in your car and watch a movie with the windows rolled down right?? I am sweating thinking about it.

The Promised land!

Pretty sky behind us.

I wore my pjs. It would be killer to wear actual clothing when it is that hot and you are sitting in a car all night with no air conditioning. LOOK AT THE STUPID TAN I HAVE ON MY FEET. I never get a sexy tan. Just a stupid one.

Did I poop into some Tupperware? No, we made brownies on a time budget. So they fell apart when I threw them in here, but they still tasted just as good! We hoovered these into oblivion.

Oh and what is this by my foot? Could that be some food paraphernalia? There were signs everywhere advising us that no outside food or food paraphernalia (???????) would be allowed into the drive-in. Like they check, come on. It was all 15-year-old kids running the show there that night anyway. I think we should be more concerned about their paraphernalia.

So frigging good. I promised myself that I wouldn’t eat the entire thing. That lasted for about 3 minutes. Anyone else get bloated when they eat a lot of popcorn? Yeah….me neither….

Hoovered. I wasn’t lying.

And that concludes this episode of the Weekend Crazies: Part 1. Tune in tomorrow (or something like that. Best friend is visiting tonight, going to be a shit show), same bat time, same bat channel.

Happy Friday everyone!

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