Book Review… Kissing in Manhattan by David Schickler

Kissing in Manhattan was a complete surprise to me. A friend gave it to me with an armload of other books, including the “Shopaholic” series, Trading up by Candice Bushnell (author of Sex and the City), and the Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding (Bridget Jones). This is like that song from Sesame Street… one of these things just doesn’t belong here.

Kissing in Manhattan is based around the fictitious Preemption Apartment Building at the corner of West 82nd and Riverside Drive. Schickler begins this book of short stories with a 22-page tale about Checkers and Donna, and continues narrating his way through the lives of the Preemption tenants and their cohorts.

At first the only connection between the anecdotes was the Preemption and the consistent sexiness of each character. By the end of the book Schickler had built a story out of all of the chapters, and although each could be read independently and be understood and enjoyable, it was only a layer in a much larger chronicle about loneliness, vanity and desire.

The three main characters were strong, easily relatable people. There’s James Branch, the down-to-earth accountant, with whom you fall in love with right away. And Rally McWilliams the travel writer, who’d we all love to be like, except when she makes bad choices in men. And Patrick Rigg the big spender, who teetered from my good list to my bad list every few pages.

I won’t hesitate to call the Preemption Apartment Building a character within the stories as well. It’s mythical nature of permanence makes you feel safe inside the descriptions of the walls, the doors, the hand-operated Otis elevator. But the endurance of the building also made it a feel a bit overwhelming. The elevator seemed to be a metaphor for reliability and safety, amidst all of the lavish chaos going on in the building.

Needless to say, Kissing in Manhattan was not the NY chic lit I was expecting. It was thoughtful, and compelling. It makes you ask questions, and it makes you think about the relationships you have (or don’t have) with the people around you. This book is an excellent read, with easy, poignant language and a fast paced storyline. I would definitely recommend this book to those looking for a romance novel, and those seeking out suspense.

posted by Unknown @ 10:40 p.m.

MASS-age...

I just got a massage from Kevin. Man, it was awesome!! So relaxing. He was super gentle, but massaged confidently, putting pressure on points of my body that "hurt, but in a good way". My favourite part was the head massage. I love how he picked up my head like a football and rubbed my neck!

Big strong hands make for good good massage.

And he's mobile! It was great that I didn't have to go out into the cold after getting a nice massage.

Highly recommended, people!

posted by Unknown @ 6:01 p.m.

Our Energy, Our Future?

I received an information pamphlet from the Government of Ontario last week, and I just tossed it on my kitchen table with the other junk mail I get. I figured it was another one of those blue Energy Costs are Changing leaflets. Not until today did I get a chance to look through it. It's actually called Our Energy, Our Future: It's Time To Talk About Our Electricity Future.

It's written by the Ontario Power Authority, and it details the looming energy gap (that they predict for 2025), and the alternatives and solutions they think will be most effective. According to the OPA, a mix of different power sources (including renewables), AND more effort put into conserving energy, is required in order to prevent a serious lack of supply later in the next 1/4 century.

Apparently, the current mix is 51% nuclear, 23% renewables, 19% coal and 7% natural gas. The OPA's suggestion is this mix: 50% nuclear, 43% renewables, 6% natural gas and 1% gasification (clean coal).

I'm actually surprised at the amount of renewables we already have in use, and happy to see the OPA wants to increase that by almost double. I'm disappointed that we rely on nuclear power so much, since it seems to me to be the most dangerous form of power supply, and the risks involved with and the cost of disposing the toxic waste makes it almost not worth it to me. But alas, it's not as bad as coal.

They're are saying they want to have all coal-fired plants replaced by 2009 (yippee!).

They also mentioned three easy ways to help conserve energy:
- replace light bulbs with CFL bulbs
- wash your clothes in cold or warm water, not hot
- use your hot water wisely (fix leaky taps, insulate water heater, low-flow shower heads)

The pamphlet is asking us for our ideas and opinions. To submit your thoughts, visit www.ontario.ca/energy.




View, albeit distant, of the Toronto windmill at Dufferin and the waterfront.

posted by Unknown @ 12:12 p.m.

"Met Up" with Toronto Photographers last night...

It was a lot of fun! I was a little nervous at first, since it was my first time going to a TPMG social night, but after I saw Dan there (who I recognized from my lunch with the TPMGer's last week), he introduced me to some other people who were really nice. It was great talking to Jerrold, James, Julian, and all the others I met.

The whole TPMG thing is pretty cool. I know I'll learn alot, make a lot of contacts, and it will be excellent motivation to take more photographs. I haven't shot a roll of film in YEARS, but since joining the TPMG, I've already gotten a roll back, and was pleasantly surprised with the results. I'll post the photos onto Flickr once I get them scanned.

First things first though, I NEED a business card.

posted by Unknown @ 7:59 p.m.

[Werking Title] Book Club Blog is now up...

This is where I'll post all book-related articles... review, news, suggestions, etc. Now I just have to make sure I write the reviews, read the news, and make suggestions, etc.

posted by Unknown @ 12:11 p.m.

Happy Birthday Lord and Lady Baden-Powell!!

Today is February 22nd, the birthdays of Sir Robert Baden-Powell (1857) and his wife Olave Baden-Powell (1889). Known as B.P. Day or Founder's Day by Scouts all over the world, and as "Thinking Day" by the Girl Guides.

Lord B.P. founded the Scouting movement in 1907 after writing the book "Aids to Scouting" for the English military and finding it was a bestseller. The Girl Guide movement was started in 1910 by Lord B.P.'s sister, Agnew Baden-Powell, after a number of young girls showed up to the first Scout Rally calling themselves Girl Scouts.

Today brings back a lot of good memories for me. I was a Brownie, a Girl Guide, and then a Pathfinder. After a couple years off from guiding, I joined the Rovers (Scouts for young adults), and I also helped out leading a Scout troop back in Tecumseh. I truly believe that if all kids were involved with Scouting/Guiding, the world be a better place. I learned so many things (practical things like sewing, astronomy and lashing together furniture for camp- and social things like teamwork, independance and leadership). I can say with conviction that I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for the Scouts/Guides.

posted by Unknown @ 1:06 p.m.

Scary...

My neighbour told me last night that the guy that lives next door was beaten up and left in the breezeway between our buildings. This is NOT ok. I understand that he was a drug dealer, and that since I'm not "into" those kinds of things, I should remain relatively safe, but STILL. It freaks me out. I thought I could handle Parkdale, but I'm beginning to second guess myself. I'm a wuss, and I'd like to keep it that way.

posted by Unknown @ 10:28 a.m.

Breakfast Review #2... Skyline.

For my second breakfast review, my cousin Allison, James and I sought out the Skyline Restaurant. After a long, cold walk in the wrong direction (we started out at Dufferin and headed east- I thought it was closer to the Drake), we decided to ask a couple waiting for the streetcar for directions. They said they'd never heard of the Skyline, and asked if I meant the revolving restaurant at the top of the CN Tower. I was like, no. I thought to myself, "This isn't a good sign, the locals have never even heard of it?!?" But perhaps they weren't locals, or maybe they just didn't get out all that much. It ends up though, I was in the wrong neighbourhood! After stopping into that infamous Starbucks and asking the barista for directions (they were very nice and knew exactly the place I was talking about), we found the Skyline a bit further west on Queen Street at O'Hara Avenue.

The best part about this place is the ambience- it's pure greasy spoon diner, complete with red vinyl lined booths and yellowed light sconces along the walls. The waitress immediately brought us water, and a second later, some of the best coffee I've had in a while. Alas, there were no free refills, but because we were newcomers, she gave us three cupfuls each for the price of two.

The menu had classics like eggs, bacon, ham or sausage with homefries and toast, and other diner specialities like open faced hot sandwiches, triple deckers and steak and fries. I was a bit confused by the cold meat platters, but to each his own, I guess. I ordered two eggs over easy, bacon, white toast, and fries instead of homefries. Allison had the same (but with no meat and brown toast, with homefries). James got the mushroom omellette.

The food came quick, and I noticed that I got three yolks instead of just two. Steroid eggs, maybe? Couldn't have been simple good luck, since Allison got the same. I'd rather not think about it! They were cooked to perfection in "real butter" according to the menu, and the bacon was yummy. Garnished with a leaf of head lettuce and a small slice of tomato. Ghetto-diner style!

All that food for $5.95. The fries were nice and crispy. Apparently the homefries were good too, with some seasoning salt sprinkled on top (I thought that was my secret!) A quick note about James' omellette- it was overrun with mushrooms and I regretted not ordering it!

SO- on a scale of 1 to 5. I'll give the service a 5. The food a 2.5 (the eggs creeped me out even though they tasted good, the garnish was a little sad and no refills on the coffee seemed strange). The atmosphere a 4. Cleanliness a 3.5. Cost a 4.5. Overall- Skyline gets a 19.5 out of 25!

posted by Unknown @ 10:59 a.m.

Which New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Are You?

I love quizzes. This one was designed for Americans though, so some of the questions were N/A's. Meh.


You are Maureen Dowd! You like to give people silly
nicknames and write in really short, non
sequitur paragraphs. You're the most playful
of the columnists and a rock-ribbed liberal,
but are often accused of being too flamboyant
and frivolous. You tend to focus on style
over substance, personality over politics.
But your heart is in the right place. Plus,
you are a total fox.

Which New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

YESSSS!!!! I've always wanted to be an op-ed columnist from the NY Times. The fact that I'm the good-looking one makes it that much sweeter!

posted by Unknown @ 10:51 a.m.

Ignorant or Insolent??

I may have mentioned in a previous post, or not, my co-worker that sits beside me in the office. He insists on playing his music (80's pop rock, fruity club mixes, Celine Dion, need I say more?!?) all day at work. Not only does he leave his IPod on shuffle all day, but he's got speakers wired all over the office. It's retarded.

So this morning, in a rare moment of silence, I quickly started up my Windows Media Player and threw on Demon Days (the Gorillaz... best album of 2005, by far). Not 30 seconds later, my co-worker starts up his "Friday Mix"... ugh. It's not that I detest all of his music- I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to tunes- but did he not hear that I was playing my own music? It was like he cranked his music to spite me. If his music was contained to his own work station, I wouldn't mind so much. But COME ON.

I really can't tell if he's just dim, or if he's power tripping. I just don't get it.

For a visual aid, here's a pic of my desk. I just wanted to post a photo of something!

posted by Unknown @ 11:57 a.m.

Generation X, Y, $

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/finance/article.jsp?content=20060213_121482_121482

Here's another interesting article. It talks about how people my age (25-35) view spending differently than our parents did. Well, duh.

Our generation is a bit more thoughtless with our money, mostly because credit is so accessible to us. It's nothing for us to get approved for a $5000 VISA card one week, and be approached the next for a $5000 MasterCard.

The article also talks about how our values are much different than the previous generations. We're generally not in a hurry to settle down, buy a house and start a family. All the things that you need to save for, aren't necessarily important to us. We'd rather add to our debt (student loans, lines of credit) to take a 6 week vacation in Bali. And worry about the defecit we've incurred later.

So- what do you think? Are we reckless with our income? Do "savings" mean anything to us?

Personally, I've got $2500 stored away, just waiting to be spent on a vacation, whenever and wherever I decide to take it. This the fruit of three years of mindless saving. BTW- I'm taking suggestions on where exactly to go. Who's up for a holiday?!?

posted by Unknown @ 11:16 a.m.

Locavore?? The 100-Mile Diet...

http://thetyee.ca/Life/2006/01/25/Incredible100MileDiet/

This a great article about two people in BC who vowed to eat only local food (within 100 miles) for one year. It sounds pretty easy, but sacrifices must be made, and things probably get pretty expiremental. Imagine having to give up chocolate, or curry? But there are always alternatives.

I only wish I had the stamina to adhere to a diet like this. I was trying really hard to only buy local produce, when I lived near Kensington and was able to visit the market on a regular basis. But now that I'm in Parkdale, I don't know how easy that's going to be. Plus it's winter. Yuck.

I'm hoping that once spring hits, I'll be able to visit markets like the one at Dufferin Grove and the Sunshine Garden at the CAMH. These markets tend to be expensive though. We'll see how my finances are doing in the spring. Plus- I just can't seem to live without my Crescendo frozen pizza!!

posted by Unknown @ 1:02 p.m.

Valentine's in the Dark

We went to Squirly's for dinner and drinks on Valentine's Day (myself, James, Stef and Oriana) and had some fun in the dark with my camera. Here's a shot of Stef that Oriana took:

Very creative, eh!?!? Gotta love those timed exposures.

I forgot how awesome Squirly's is. We used to go there for Sunday brunch like, every weekend. Cheap food (price-wise, but rich in taste), great atmosphere and friendly service. I love the back patio, where they've got this crazy industrial heater (like the ones you see in an arena). It get's cold in that back room, but it heats up really fast once they crank that sucker up!

posted by Unknown @ 12:44 p.m.

Happy happy happy...

posted by Unknown @ 1:11 p.m.

Breakfast Review #1... Easy.

So- I figure now that I'm in a new neighbourhood, I need to find the local breakfast gems. I called my friend Mike, who is a self proclaimed Parkdale Buff (his words, exactly), and he suggested three places. Skyline (near the Drake), Mitzi's Sister (a bit further west on Queen), and Easy (Queen & Roncesvalles). James and I decided to check out Easy.

I got there pretty early, and it was packed. There was no room to wait, so I stood by the door, getting batted around for a bit, until the host said to wait at the bar. He then proceeded to seat the five or six people that were waiting after me, and I was like, "Wha?!?" I asked him if he wasn't seating me at a table because my friend hadn't showed up yet and he said yeah. I thought that was strange.

James finally showed up, and we finally got a table. A nice one, by the front window. A bit chilly, but nice and bright. I ordered the GBLT (Guacamole, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich) with Homefries. The food totally made up for the wait. $7.95 got me a gourmet sandwich with fresh guac, crispy bacon, roma tomatoes and spring mix greens on a rosemary ciabatta. YUMMM!! The homefries were covered in rosemary too, and they were scrumptious. Bottomless cup of excellent coffee ($1.25) rounded out the meal, and I was satisfied!

SO- on a scale of 1 to 5. I'll give the service a 2. The food a 5. The atmosphere a 4 (cool Easy Rider posters on the walls, and beautiful people all around- the host was super cute with fabu blue eyes and brown rodeo shirt, however, the place was a bit cramped). Cleanliness a 5. Cost a 3.5. Overall- Easy gets a 19.5 out of 25!

Stay tuned for more breakfast reviews.

posted by Unknown @ 12:34 p.m.

Weekend Update with Kari, part deux...

Saturday night I went out... first to see off Neil, who's returning to England after living here for a year. He'll be missed for sure- he was a damn fun guy. We met up at The Tap on Bloor, worked our way down to Insomnia, and then they went to Footwork for some dancing.

Neil is pictured at left... Goodbye Neil!!

I didn't join them at Footwork, but went to a "porn party" with Bex and Mike on Abell Street, and we did some dancing of our own. The party was pretty awesome, LOTS of people (it was packed shoulder to shoulder, and took a good 20 minutes to make your way to the bar), GREAT music (they had a live band with a sax player and some horns- SO sexy), drinks (3 for $10, until they ran out) and lots of skimpy costumes. It was hot!

After we headed to Duncan's (who is very cute, as is his friend... I really hope I meet up with them again!). I made it home for around 5am. Phew! What a night. This photo pretty much sums up the Cracked Out Sunday we had...

HAHA BEX!!!

posted by Unknown @ 12:12 p.m.

Weekend Update with Kari...

Friday I watched Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It was awesome! Classic W&G. The best part was learning how to make a plasticine bunny from the Special Features. They're SO CUTE!!!

Then I watched Elizabethtown. A bit disappointing. I expected more from one of my favourite directors. My all-time fave movie is Almost Famous, also directed by Cameron Crowe. Elizabethtown was a bit more mushy. And it reminded me of Gardenstate, way too much (which is another one of my all-time faves, so I was like, "been there done that, hello!!!?!"). Elizabethtown did have an excellent soundtrack though! And Orlando Bloom was nice to look at for two hours. The famous road-trip that he takes from Virginia (I think that's where he was) to Oregon was the best part of the movie, and I wish Crowe would've played that up a bit more. Oh well.

posted by Unknown @ 11:51 a.m.

Karaoke at the Gladstone

Went to the Gladstone for some Karaoke madness last night. Went home with a splitting headache. Woke up this morning, still in pain. Took two extra-fort ibuprofens. It's just now abating.

So- was it the two pints I had? Or the loud, LOUD singing?!? LOL- who knows.

I must say though, an aquaintance of mine, Naomi, sang The Lady's a Tramp, and she did a phenomenal job of it. She's got some wicked pipes! I only wish I had a voice like that, and the balls to go up and sing my face off in front of a bunch of people. I've karaoke'ed once, with a group, about 5 years ago. It was fun, but I haven't had the courage to do it since then. I feel it coming though. It'll happen soon, I think! LOL

posted by Unknown @ 12:54 p.m.

How in the world do they choose the best?!?

I watched some of this year's Grammy Awards show last night. The opening was pretty cool- the Gorillaz, with Madonna. However, I don't think the audience liked the Gorillaz too much, because I heard chatter and shouts throughout their performance. Maybe they didn't appreciate the fact that they aren't real, only cartoon characters. I personally LOVE the Gorillaz, and think their digitized personas fully reflect the direction music is taking.

Another highlight was the performance by Mariah Carey. Honestly. I think she's as skanky as the next critic, but you can't deny it- that woman can sing. She's put on a few pounds, but looks great, and her energy, passion and talent kept my eyes glued to the screen. It was amazing. I remember when I was about 11 or 12, I asked my mom for the Mariah Carey and the Cocktail Soundtrack cassette tapes for Christmas. My mom said, "Oh, well at least that will be easy to remember, since my name is Maria, and yours is Kari!!" Alas, she must've forgotten, because I didn't get it. And I got the Beach Boys Good Vibrations on tape, instead of the Cocktail Sountrack (I was pissed at the time, because of course I was too young to appreciate Good Vibrations at all).

Back to the Grammies... if I was a judge, I would've given the award to evey single nominee in this category...

Category 22: Best Alternative Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental)

Funeral- The Arcade Fire [Merge Records]
Guero- Beck [Interscope Records]
Plans- Death Cab For Cutie [Atlantic Records]
You Could Have It So Much Better- Franz Ferdinand [Domino]
Get Behind Me Satan- The White Stripes [Third Man/V2 Records]

Honestly, each of these albums is amazing. Go out and buy them right now. Or download them. Whatev.

posted by Unknown @ 12:36 p.m.

TTC Fare Hike... again.

Fare will jump to $2.75 a ride April 1st. Jeez. Luckily, I should be riding my bike by then. Hopefully.

Hey, maybe it's an April Fool's joke put on by the TTC???

posted by Unknown @ 11:57 a.m.

Mmmmm... Salad King.

Went to Salad King with James (my old neighbour) and Jackie (my co-worker) for lunch today. MAN is that place "the shit", or as the Spaniards would say Esta Cabrown (this is a throwback to our conversation at bookclub last night, about how Spanish people have sex in English. Don't ask me, ask Maria).

I had the usual- Thai Islamic Noodles, medium spiceyness. Noodles, with shrimp, chicken, mushrooms, broccoli, onions, peppers, and lemongrass, in a coconut milk panang sauce (ahem- ALL of my favourite things). I'm shuddering (in a good way) just thinking about it! YUM! So good- it's not even on the menu. You have to ask for it specially.

But the best part about Salad King is the menu. It's full of grammar and spelling mistakes, in an endearing sort of way. The spicey scale is as follows:


LOL- 20 Chili = Can get stomach upset. Are you kidding me?!? I would DIE if I ate something that spicey. I'm a huge wuss when it comes to spice (as everyone knows).

Another thing that rocks about Salad King- on the menu is the Kari Noodle... Kari- that's me!! HA!

posted by Unknown @ 4:37 p.m.

The Citizenship Party...

Maria being serenaded by Joey? (I think that's his name...) I couldn't help from singing along to Underwhelmed, what Canadian doesn't love SLOAN?!?!?

Maria being her cute self, as always.

I still don't get the whole "Sharkey" thing. Apparently it was his birthday, or there was an anniversary of some sort?? Here he his enjoying a Timbit (which I think is, above all, the quintessential Canadian food).

posted by Unknown @ 1:18 p.m.

My newest companion...

So- after much turmoil, I finally adopted a cat. The story goes like this...

Friday morning, I called a bunch of different pet stores, asking if they had kittens for sale. Only ane answered yes, PetSmart on St. Clair Avenue, and the time to adopt was Saturday at 11am. So, I wake up Saturday morning, shower and hit Burger King for some yucky (but yummy) breakfast. I hopped on the King streetcar, transfer onto the Yonge subway line, and get off at St. Clair station (I checked the the TTC map, and it said I could get to the PetSmart by taking the bus from there). After a crazy bus ride through Mount Pleasant (lots of twists and turns- I really had NO idea where I was), I finally get to the pet store.

I walk in, go to the adoption centre, and say I'd like to adopt a kitten. I was then told that there were no kittens available! I was crushed, and pissed, because the guy I talked to on Friday (who was rude, and short with me), told me there would be kittens. The woman explained that they're were not affiliated with the store, that they were a rescue group that just brought animals to the store on Saturdays. Apparently, the guy I spoke to should've given me a number to call the rescue group, but alas, no such considerations were taken. Anyways- I was on the verge of tears because I'd come from so far, and I just really wanted a kitten. The woman told me that she had some young-ish cats that I could look at. I said fine, and she plops this cow-like cat into my arms. Her name was Queenie, and she was a sweetie. So I took her home. But not before reeming out the manager of the store. Unsurprisingly, he seemed not to care very much about my experience. Meh.

Anyways- here she is! Her name is Queen Anna Belle. AKA Queenie, Beauty Queen, Pretty Lady, Little Girl, Anna Bella, etc. etc. etc. Don't her spots look like a cow's?!?

Here's another pic of her royal cuteness...

posted by Unknown @ 12:59 p.m.

The quest has been renamed...

From The Apartment Hunt to The Kitten Hunt. I didn't think it would be so hard to find an available kitty in the city!

The Humane Society has rejected me, since I had to "surrender" (I effing hate that word- I say "give up") my cat Artemis a couple years ago. Artemis was, unfortunatley, none too smart, and swallowed a string. I couldn't afford the surgery that may or may not have been able to save him, so I brought him into the Humane Society, balling my eyes out. When I went yesterday to look at the cats (there were no kittens, anyways), I told them what happened with Artemis and they said I would not be approved to adpot a new cat. They didn't even ask me if my living situation had changed (like, if I was working the same job, or paying the same rent, etc.). Needless to say, I was little upset. I haven't had too many good experiences with the Humane Society. I once chose a kitten from the shelter in Windsor, and when I went to pick him up the next day, I found that all the kittens were gone! I was like, "What the hell?!?" and they told me that all the kittens were euthanized because they were sick. I couldn't believe it. "Humane" Society MY ASS.

So- I think I'll just go and get a kitten from a pet store. Next weekend, I think, I'll head up to the only PetSmart in the city (Eglinton and Laird) and pick up a little sweety. $80 covers shots and if it's old enough, a fix, otherwise they give a $50 voucher for a refund once the kitten has been "altered". How do you like word, eh? Altered. Ha!

And, once I get the beaut, you'll see LOTS of photos. The first will be dedicated to Maria. LOL

posted by Unknown @ 12:01 p.m.