A Lot About Nothing – Wordpress

Category: Random

  • What a busy weekend!

    This past weekend was one of the most challenging for me, because I decided to squeeze in so many events in one day. But I attended all of them and fared pretty well in each.

    First Stop: Enbridge CN Tower Stair Climb for United Way
    I’m not a morning person, so waking up at 5am was a challenge enough as it is. I didn’t have a lot of time to make myself a decent breakfast before I was supposed to meet my friends downtown for 7am to register for the climb, so I decided to grab some McDonald’s. That was my first mistake. But I would rather have a sausage and egg McMuffin in my belly, then climb up 1,776 steps on an empty stomach. I made it up the the tower in 25:02 minutes… Exactly 3 minutes off from my very first climb back in April.
    Now I can blame the McDonald’s I ate, the lack of training, or even my old age, but I’m still proud of myself for getting up those steps without taking a single break for a breather! By the time I got my t-shirt and stuff from coat check it was just after 8:30am.

    Second Stop: National Women’s Show
    I’m a devout fan of this annual exhibit for women. This is truly the ultimate girls day out. The show started at 10am. since it was in the same vicinity as the stair climb I was able to get there early enough to secure my free goodie bag. I had wrangled up 10 of my girl friends to accompany me and we had a blast. Got some great deals and freebies on food, fashion and wellness. Even got to see Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott from The Young and the Restless). My shoulders were aching by the end of our visit because off all the bags-o-stuff, but it was worth it. Left there at about 3:30pm, because I needed to get home, clean up and change for the Bachata Social later that evening.

    Last stop: Kings of Bachata “Love & Hate” Dance Social
    Hosted by The Bachata Club.com and Toronto Latin Dance.ca I was super excited for this social dance event. Bachata is definitely my favourite dance since I’ve started Latin dancing. To have a wide array of instructors under one roof helped display social comradery among the salsa scene in Toronto. I got there around 7pm and several DJs played a nice selection of bachata and salsa. I even got a good kizomba lesson during one of the workshops.
    What I was looking forward to was the Jack and Jill Freeze Competition. The object of the competition/game is to dance to randomly selected bachata songs, with randomly selected dance partners. The “freeze” addition to the game has the music stop, and the last person to freeze their bachata pose gets booted from the competition until one couple remains. As the competition went on, the remaining couple’s dance technique became just as important as their “freezability”, and I’m happy to say that my partner and I won the competition! It was great getting cheered on by my salsa friends. I am now the lucky owner of a Sony Reader (now I can start reading books again).

    What an eventful Saturday!

  • Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

    I was at the local convenience store today buying my Lotto Max ticket (fingers crossed). After being in awe of my current hairstyle, the conversation the cashier started with me somehow drifted to work habits between people in North America and those overseas.

    It’s not a secret that Europeans have longer vacations than those of us in Canada and the U.S. And it’s clear that obesity in the U.S. is a growing issue, which is even more reason why more people should spend some time with active extra-curricular activities such as sports.

    Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard complaints from friends who’s been inundated with requests from their superiors, even though they all go beyond the call of duty already. I know the economy is tough and feeling the pressure to do so much in order to keep your job can be a challenge.

    This year I made myself a promise not to overwork myself like I have in past years. I know I can’t please everyone, and saying “no” to requests every once in a while won’t hurt. People need to know that you’re not superman.

    I’ve rewarded myself with a few getaways in 2012, because I knew I deserved them. I’ve been joining various sports teams in order to stay active and healthy. Working too much can lead to stress, and you can make yourself physically sick if you don’t treat your body and mind with the respect that it deserves.

    So to all you readers out there: take a break every once in a while. Take a walk during your lunch break instead of eating at your desk. Join a social sports league to keep yourself active after work. Spend more time with your family and friends. These little changes will help you live a more balanced life.

    Here’s hoping I win that 50 million in tonight’s draw so that I can take the vacation of a lifetime!

  • Angry Birds: When Seagulls Attack!

    For the  start of the May 2-4 weekend I made plans with a friend of mine to head downtown to the Habourfront and do some walking to embrace the beautiful mid-20°C weather. We stopped off at Nathan Phillips Square first, because I had a craving for some poutine (as usual). I was feeling a bit hungrier than usual, so I decided to order a hot dog as well (haven’t had street meat in years). I paid for my meal, and the vendor gave me my hot dog and poutine combo in one of those two-compartment styrofoam containers. Topped my hot dog off with some ketchup, mustard, and relish… looked delicious!

    “Let’s find a bench in the shade where we can sit,” I say to my friend, turning to her slightly.

    No word of a lie, I hear a squawk and out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of something white, felt it graze my face. I scream, still managing to hold on to my tray of food. I look down and see that my hot dog is gone!

    Not even seconds later I hear birds squawking,  and see two dozen sea gulls attacking what’s left of my hot dog metres from where I was standing in shock. It was like a scene out of Hitchcock’s The Birds.

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls[/youtube]

    A freakin’ seagull had the audacity to fly millimeters away from my face, swoop down, snatch up my hotdog from my hands and fly away with it!

    It picked up my entire hot dog (bun and all) and few off with it, dropping it on the pavement metres away where it’s hoodlum friends could feast on it. All that was left less than a minute later was a pavement stain of yellow mustard.

    The seagull that stole my hotdog
    This is an exact representation of the seagull that snatched my hot dog right from my hands.

    These Toronto birds are brave! What happened to the time when animals were afraid of humans?! My gosh, I swear this gull was probably eying me from the time I left the food truck, like those velociraptors in that kitchen scene from Jurassic Park.

    “You’re lucky it didn’t take your poutine too!” said a woman who was also in line at the food truck.

    Traumatized and pissed off that half my meal was gone, I went off to find a washroom to scrub my face from the feather brush moments earlier, thinking that next time I venture downtown I should bring a pellet gun to ward off these gull thieves.

    Later on in the day at Harbourfront, I saw another woman holding the same order of a hot dog and fries. I was tempted to give her a warning to keep an eye on the sky, but she might’ve deemed me as crazy.

    Turns out food isn’t the only thing these calculating creatures steal. Check out this video of a gull flying off with someone’s video camera.

    That incident just put a damper on my day. I was really  looking forward to that hot dog.

    Freakin’ bird.

  • May the Fourth Be With You: It’s Star Wars Day!

    This morning I was informed that May 4th is Star Wars Day. Even though I’m more of a Trekkie, I’ve decided to commemorate the day with a question: What if absentee dad, Darth Vader, actually took an active role in raising his son Luke?

    Jeffery Brown has written a book called Darth Vader and Son, aiming to answer that question. The book is filled with endearing and funny illustrations that depict Darth raising a young Luke Skywalker in a galaxy far, far away (awww… he even takes Luke trick-or-treating).

    Darth Vader and Son - Book Cover

    Darth Vader and Son (1)

    Darth Vader and Son (2)

    Darth Vader and Son (3)

    At the time of this post, the 64-page hardcover book seems to be out of stock (probably due to various Star Wars fanatics), but I’m sure if you really want a copy you can find one used online.

    For all you fellow geeks out there, this weekend also marks the tail end of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival which will be taking place at the Toronto Reference Library. This event features hundreds of comics creators from around the world, as well as readings, workshops, gallery shows and more. Check out http://torontocomics.com for more info.

    As for me, I’ll be letting my inner geek out this weekend by watching Marvel’s The Avengers.

  • An Out of this World Experience in Toronto’s Cosmic Cab

    When I called Beck Taxi this morning in hopes of securing a cab, I didn’t expect that I would’ve stepped foot into what would seem like a psychedelic dream. As soon as I opened the back door, I knew this would be a ride to remember.

    The back seat area was decked out from top to bottom in a wide array of various action figures, toys, and figurines. Mini chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and a holder housed a variety of current magazines for my reading pleasure.

    [nggallery id=1]

    This was an interesting start of the day.

    The cab driver’s name is Akber Batada, a middle-aged man who immigrated here from India years ago.  My fellow passengers and I were greeted happily, and were equally shocked at the interesting interior decoration of the taxi.

    Akber offered us gum (we had our choice of flavours with about 6 packed rubber-banded together). He asked what type of music we’d like to listen to. I opted for some Michael Jackson. He popped a DVD in and we were able to see old school music videos on the two LCD screens that were facing the back seat (“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, in case you’re wondering).

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a cheerful and hospitable cab driver. Akber told us to feel free to take photos inside, explained his passion for the state of his cab, and how happy it makes him to see his passengers happy.

    This really made me think about the state that some people are in during the day: frequently we’re stressed out, rushing, and in a foul mood… usually because of work. But it’s important to take some time out of the day and just smile, remembering the joy and simple pleasures in the little things in life.

    It’s sheer coincidence that I called up a taxi and struck luck with the Cosmic Cab. Stressed out myself this morning, but by the time I left after the 15 minute cab ride I was totally relaxed, happy and eager to start my day.  Definitely brought a smile to my face.

    Thank you, Akber and your Cosmic Cab!