The Quest for the Perfect Wake Up Call

For the past couple of weeks, I've been searching for the perfect radio station to wake up to in the morning. My wake up routine is as follows:

The alarm first goes off at 7:15am (which is actually 7am, since my clock is set 15 minutes fast). I hit the snooze button, which allows me to sleep for nine more minutes. Why nine? I have no idea. I think that's the default snooze time.

At 7:24am, the alarm goes off again. I hit snooze.

I let the alarm go off three more times, at 7:33, 7:42 and 7:51. Then I wake up.

I need to be coerced awake, gradually, so I don't "wake up on the wrong side of the bed". If I'm jarred awake suddenly, I get scared. And that's no way to start your day.

For the last three years, I awoke to 102.1 The Edge because I enjoy most of the music they play. A couple weeks ago, however, I awoke to someone talking about how they watched some guy stick something up someone's asshole, who then had to go to the emergency room to get it dislodged. Maybe I'm getting old- but that's NOT a conversation I need to hear first thing in the morning. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about The Edge. I think the DJs are hilarious- just not right when I open my eyes.

So- now I'm looking for a new station. I've tried classical, which is no good because it just lulls me back into a deeper sleep. I tried 107.1, the classic rock station, but all they do is talk in the morning. Alas, I don't get Jack FM in my bedroom. Now my clock is set to a jazz station (99.1, I think), but I'm having the same problem as with the classical music- it's just too damn relaxing.

I NEED to find the perfect radio station... HELP!!

posted by Unknown @ 3:37 p.m.

Cuteness...

Everyone needs a little cuteness in their day. Here's some!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bouboubear/

Or, if you feel like you need an overdose of cuteness, check out Cute Overload.

posted by Unknown @ 10:46 a.m.

Literary Influence...

I don't ever recall reading a book before that made me feel sick to my stomach, or as angry, anxious and frustrated as Anne Marie MacDonald's The Way the Crow Flies. I'm not finished it yet, so this isn't a review, but I just have to say... holy frick, this is a good book.

It makes me want to run away screaming, horrified that there are characters like those in the book out there in the real world.

But I can't stop reading it.

posted by Unknown @ 4:02 p.m.

I guess this is true??

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to good manners and elegance. In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

posted by Unknown @ 12:52 p.m.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Friday we sang karaoke for Beth's Birthday. It was frickin' insane. We rented a private karaoke room for 20 people at this place on Bloor (by Bathurst). It was INSANE. The only thing I could say when I walked in was AS IF!

It was a trip and a half, but it was a hell of a good time. I love singing. Love it. But it would take a lot to get me up on stage in front of a bunch of strangers. The private room was perfect- it held just enough people so that you had an audience, but it was all (well, mostly) people I knew, so I could care less about making an ass of myself!

I sang Total Eclipse of the Heart with Graham (for Ben, of course), and some Abba with Beth, and... *tee hee* that's all I really remember!

More pics to be seen here:
Beth's Karaoke Birthday 2006

posted by Unknown @ 11:34 p.m.

Breakfast Review #4... Mitzi's Cafe

This should've been written a loooong time ago, but what can I say- sometimes I'm a slacker.

A couple weeks ago, James I met up for breakfast at the original Mitzi's Cafe, up at Sauroren and Pearson. It was a beautiful day; it had been raining all night but the sun was shining that morning. I decided to walk there, even though I was horribly hung over. I figured the walk would do me good. It didn't, but the breakfast certainly made me feel 110% better!

I arrived a few minutes before James (as per the usual), so I reserved a table for two and waited outside. There really isn't anywhere to wait inside, so I was lucky it was a nice Sunday morning. The place is very small- I've been told the place was a corner store before it was a restaurant. I don't think it should be any bigger, though. It's the epitome of quaint. The very definition of cozy. From the big purple door inviting me in to the mismatched but oh-so-appropriate Formica tables and vinyl chairs, the butter-coloured paint on the walls and the hand-written chalkboard menu; the fact that there are cafes like this reminds me how cool Toronto really is.

I had homemade granola served over vanilla yogurt with lots of fresh fruit. I thought the granola was maybe slightly overdone (then again, I've never had homemade granola before), but the fruit and yogurt was exactly what you expect it to be- refreshing and energizing. And the presentation was very nice! James had an omelette with shiitake mushrooms and rapini with a lemon mustard drizzle. He said it was amazing, even though he didn't know what rapini was (I guess it's kind of like broccoli?) I didn't feel up to a coffee, but it looked and smelt wonderful.

SO- on a scale of 1 to 5. I gave the service a 3.5 (the place was super busy, though, and there was obviously only one server). The food a 4.5. The atmosphere a 5. Cleanliness a 5. Cost a 2 (I knew the prices were the same as Mitzi's Sister, which is fairly high). Overall- Mitzi's Cafe and Gallery gets a 20 out of 25!

posted by Unknown @ 7:49 p.m.

We made the Torontoist!!!

That is something to brag about, right?!? LOL

Stef's Content Sale Signage

It was my idea to put the crab and the shark up, to attract people's attention. I said to myself- those signs need something shiny on them- so I grabbed the first shiny (disposable) things I could fine- which happened to be a crab and a shark.

May the souls of Mr. Crab and Mr. Shark rest well in the recycle bin on Queen and Tecumseth.

posted by Unknown @ 1:55 p.m.

My new favourite comedy...

I've known this show was hilarious for a long time, but I never knew when it aired.

SCRUBS ... Tuesday at 8.30pm on NBC.

Watch it. You'll laugh. Plus Zach Braff is nice to look at.

posted by Unknown @ 12:53 p.m.

Dreams and Ideas

Last night I had another tornado dream. We were at my dad's house, there was a BBQ going on. I just remember looking out the front bay window, and seeing a huge funnel cloud touch down in the yard, then rise up again. I ran through the house, yelled "TORNADO! EVERYBODY IN THE BASEMENT!" and then jumped down the stairs (literally- I took the first step down, and then hopped over the side and did a drop roll at the bottom). Then I ran into the furnace room, squeezed behind the furnace and water heater, and crouched down. I remember that whoever was with me was complaining about it being cramped, but all I could think was, "Look at all the old LPs down here!" I proceeded to browse through all the records I found. Weird.

I dream about tornadoes ALL the time. I have no idea what it means. This one was short, but sometimes they're more like nightmares, longer and scarier. I've dreamt about being on top of a skyscraper and seeing multiple funnel clouds all around me; I've seen the Flatiron Building being taken away by a tornado; I've watched a tornado go casually down my old street in Lambeth, Ontario; even dreamt of a cartoon tornado with googly eyes visiting me at my grade school. I know- it's weird.

And now for the "idea" section- I had a great eureka moment on the streetcar this morning. They should put NEWSPAPER RACKS on the streetcars! Imagine how much cleaner the cars would be, and the newspapers could be re-used! This struck me after the person sitting in front of me threw the paper he was reading onto the ground (and half onto my feet). I was like, "UGH, Litterer." But, where else is he supposed to put it, if he doesn't want to keep it? Someone get me the mayor!

** photo courtesy of utahweather.org

posted by Unknown @ 10:52 a.m.

David Suzuki's 70th Birthday...

... is on Friday (the same day as Beth's, actually). I got an email a couple days ago, with a link to send Mr. Suzuki a birthday greeting! Isn't that just the best thing ever? Except that, wait! It's supposed to be a surprise... I wonder how often Mr. Suzuki reads my blog? If you want to send him a greeting, just let me know and I'll send you the link.

Anyways- here's what I wrote to him:

Dear David,
Just a quick note to say THANK YOU for being such an
outspoken advocate for Canada's environment, its flora and fauna rights and for
your hard work on your quest for a safe and enjoyable country.

I went to hear your lecture on Sustainability at the University of Toronto,
with Jack Layton, and I was enthralled by your passion and your knowledge. You
truly are a perfect example of a determined, conscious Canadian, representative
of all that we as Canadians should strive to be.

Here's to your 70th year with us on earth, looking forward to at least 30 more!

Sincerely,
Kari Gignac

P.S. Just so you know, if you ran for Prime Minister, I'd vote for you
hands down. I'd probably go running through the streets celebrating, actually!

posted by Unknown @ 10:56 a.m.

Happy Birthday Mom...

Today would've been my momma's 52nd birthday.

Just lettin' her know (wherever she is), that I still think about her.

posted by Unknown @ 5:17 p.m.

A Mellow Weekend...

I stayed in most of this weekend, which was just what I needed. I finally got my website working, and got in some good visitation time with Queenie (my kitty).

St. Patrick's Day was a little disappointing, only because we weren't feeling the karaoke at the Gladstone, and once we got to the Rhino, I was super tired. I left the bar at like, 11:30!! I'm such a loser! However, the musicians on before karaoke were awesome! Genuine Irish jig music... it was so fun!




Saturday I spent some time with Stef, at her content sale. She sold quite a few things, but there's still lots more cool stuff up for grabs. I'm pretty sure she's opening her doors again next Saturday:
toronto.craigslist.org/gms/142414547.html

I rented two movies on Saturday night. The first, Gus Van Sant's Last Days, apparently chronicles the last few days of Kurt Cobain. So, they got an actor to grow his hair out, wear some black lingerie, put black eye liner on and stagger around effed out of his head for two hours (I actually only got through the first 45 minutes). I'm sure the movie got a little more interesting, but I'll never find out.

The second, Rent, was everything I expected it to be- a heart-wrenching musical with cheesy songs sung by cheesy actors. It was good as far as musicals go (nothing like Miss Saigon or Les Mis), but i'm sure it was WAY better on Broadway. As far as I'm concerned, movies never live up to the books and musicals they're based on. I must admit; I did cry at the end, and I did have "five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes" stuck in my head for a good time after.

Today, I watched Bride and Prejudice with James (for his class at York). Man, Bollywood is crazy! So over the top. It's a genre within itself, and I'm sure that B&P is high up on the list of best BW flicks.

And I got my other website going!

posted by Unknown @ 7:46 p.m.

www.karigignac.com

Finally!! I've got my photo blog up and running!

www.karigignac.com

So- the goal is to post a new photo everyday. And get people's comments and opinions. If you think it's a shit photo- lemme know... in the nicest way possible! And if you like it, I can get a print done for you (pricing TBA).

Thanks!

posted by Unknown @ 5:23 p.m.

Lunch at The Victoria and Frustrations with a Photoblog

Yummm, I forgot how good the fries are at The Victoria. Nice and crispy, and soft and chewy on the inside. Geez- I sound like a McCain commercial.

I went to The Vic at 2 o'clock yesterday to meet up with James T. for lunch. 2:10pm came about and I thought I was going to be stood up, but he called to tell me he was running late. What a guy. I have to stop thinking I'm not worth other people's time. Meh. I'm an awkward 13-year-old self-conscious dork stuck inside a 28-year-old woman's body. What to do??

Anyways- we chatted about photography, canoeing, travelling, babies... all my favourite things! Well- other people babies, that is. It's so nice to meet new people that share the same interests... "like-minded"... thank you James!

Last night I spent four hours trying to get a stupid photoblog up and running. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I tried FolderBlog, a simple Comments script in my Blogger blog, and then finally Pixel Post. DAMMIT. I just can't get it to work. This is what I get:
http://www.karigignac.com/pixelpost/
If anyone knows why I'm getting this- please let me know!! I'm about to tear my hair out.

posted by Unknown @ 12:19 p.m.

A Crazy Saturday Night...

All of Saturday was very interesting. It started out with a splitting headache, left over from the night before. No... it's not because I was drinking! It was a pressure headache; the weather was so crazy! I haven't had a headache like that in a loooong time. Anyways- I obliterated it with ibuprofen, because Bex and I had plans to go for a walk and shoot some photos.

We walked down to the lake, around the Peace Memorial, along the waterfront, up Jameson, along Queen, through some side streets north of Queen, and then stopped at Thai Spring Rolls for some lunch. Best damn Pad Thai I've ever had. I'm not exagerating one bit! Saucey and sweet... YUM!

On the way home, we ran into Bo Bubnich- Dog Trainer and Walker extraordinaire- you may have seen him around, he's the one in the modified wheelchair with three gorgeous Huskies leading him. They're great dogs! And Bo is super nice. It was a pleasure to meet him.








Saturday night started with drinks at Bex's place, and then we headed over to The Drake to watch her boss' band, Madrid, play a set. There are more pictures of their show to be seen here. We also got to see Fjord Rowboat. Both bands were excellent. It ends up I know the lead singer from Fjord Rowboat- a friend of a friend from highschool- I've been to his apartment and everything! Such a small world- as I'm continually reminded this week (this guy James T. who I met a couple weeks ago just met my friend Maria, with no prompting from me- it's all about Rannie!!)


The plan was to Shake our Tail Feathers after the show, but the line up at Stones Place was a bit excessive, so we ended up at Rhino. The Rhino is the best place to "end up". I've never had a shitty time there. After that we chilled at Mike's place til around 5am, at which time I teetered home (at at fairly quick pace, it is Parkdale after all).

Needless to say, Sunday was a rough morning. However, I had shit to do. I dragged my butt out of bed, met up with James A. at the original Mitzi's Cafe for breakfast (review to come), then down to a TPMG event, then some shooting time along King West, then for nachos and beer with Maria and Julia at Hemingway's, THEN home to my bed. *sigh* I'm getting to old for this!

What?? NEVER!!!

This is a long post... sorry guys.

posted by Unknown @ 11:35 p.m.

Breakfast Review #3... Mitzi's Sister

Some old friends were in town, so on Sunday I took them to Mitzi's Sister for breakfast. I'd heard good things about it, and saw it a few times on Queen West (by Sorauren Ave.); it looked interesting.

We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table, but we sat at the bar for a bit and ordered coffee. The sign out front said "Best damn coffee in town", so I expected it to be tasty- and it was. Strong, but not bitter, my friend Matt said. There were fresh flowers on the bar, roses and tulips, and a coral coloured shell chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The bartender looked vaguely familiar, but I think it's just one of those places where you feel like you know someone. I get that sometimes.

We sat at a table in the very middle of the restaurant, right beside the jukebox with the chrome arch floor lamp encircling it, underneath the metal art creature (which was a little scary- what if it fell?!) There were nude sketches covering the wall to my left- they made me smile. Needless to say, I thought the atmosphere was perfect.

We ordered our food- Matt had the Eggs Benedict, Nicole had the French Toast, and I asked for the Huevos Rancheros. We waited an appropriate amount of time, and when we recieved out breakfasts, I was blown away by the size of the French Toast- slices of sesame seed bread 5cm thick, covered with syrup and whip cream. I was jealous, but my eggs, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, refried beans and soft tortilla, with potatoes (to die for) and fresh fruit was sooo good. Matt said the Eggs Benedict was excellent as well.

So- the breakfast was shaping up to be a stellar one. But there was one drawback. The food was amazing, and the atmosphere was wicked, but not without a price. The cheapest thing on the menu was $7.95- a bowl of granola and yogurt, with fruit I think. My eggs were $9.95, and the other plates were $11.95 each.

SO- on a scale of 1 to 5. I'll give the service a 4 (the waitress was a bit distant, but that could've been because I asked if there were free coffee refills). The food a 5. The atmosphere a 5. Cleanliness a 5. Cost a 2. Overall- Mitzi's Sister gets a 21 out of 25! The best yet!

posted by Unknown @ 9:43 p.m.

$100 for two hours of discussion? Hell yeah!

I bet if you google "focus group, microsoft, toronto" you'll get at least 20 hits. Let's find out shall we?

*ctrl c; new tab; cntrl v*

Okay, so maybe not. I just figured that would pick up on some of the 50-odd bloggers that were called together for a focus group up in North York on Wednesday. The client was Microsoft, and they were testing out some new software. It was pretty cool. I kinda felt like I was at a seminar on "How to Use Microsoft Live", but it was definitely interesting to see the new advertising techniques they've been thinking of.

The funniest part of the evening was when the interviewer guy- John, his name was- gave Mac as an example of a possible advertisement. I laughed out loud, and so did he... it was pretty funny. And there were people there that write numerous blogs in each day, and have like, more than five email addresses that they check constantly. I can hardly find time for one blog! Okay, well- two now.

It was a pain in the ass travelling all the way up there, but three hours of my time paid for more than half of my new shoes, so... it was worth it!

posted by Unknown @ 9:25 p.m.

0.000000000000118%

The John Fluevog bag that I brought my new pair of shoes home in says this:

posted by Unknown @ 9:00 p.m.

The cut of my jib...

I remember, last summer, we crashed this party and this guy kept saying to me, "I like the cut of your jib," and I was like, "HOW DARE HE!?!" I fully thought he was insulting me! People tried to explain it to me, and I still didn't get it.

NOW I get it. LOL. Bex just reminded me of it, and it's hilarious now that I think of it.

BTW- the party was lame, and the guy was too young.

posted by Unknown @ 2:51 p.m.

New photos on Flickr...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravenswift/sets/72057594075920012/

From Dave Wright's birthday on Saturday!

There's also some other photos from Rhino last Thursday, and shots of Mike "sitting on top of the world".

posted by Unknown @ 10:19 p.m.

I'm in love with a shoe...

Isn't she cute? It's a Fleuvog... and it's on sale for $179.00. I just might indulge... should I do it?

posted by Unknown @ 8:48 p.m.

How Evil Am I? Not so much, apparently! (phew)

You Are 38% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

posted by Unknown @ 12:50 p.m.

Another Meet-up event...

I'm getting right into the Meetup.com business. It's great! So easy to meet new people that share similar interests... Last night I went to the Duke of York to meet up with some people from the T-DOT Writer's Meetup Group. There were 11 of us, and we all read out our assignment that was given to us by the groups organizer. It was great to be able to share something that I'd written, and hear other people's take on the same topic. The assignment was...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DRINK TOO MUCH GREEN BEER
(in honour of St. Pat's Day).
Here's my entry!

Pickled Green. A true story.

I used to live in a ranch style house with my parents in the hamlet of Maidstone, about 20 minutes southeast of Windsor (also known as the armpit of Ontario). Maidstone doesn’t offer too much in the way of excitement throughout the year, until of course, it comes to St. Patrick’s Day.

On County Line 98, up the ways a bit from my house, was the only commercially zoned lot in Maidstone, home of Cozy Corners. Every inhabitant of Maidstone spends at least one summer working at this pub, scrubbing potatoes or waiting tables. It’s the right of passage that usually lets you know; Maidstone is not a place for staying. Like the town, Cozy Corners was old and tired, with dusty shamrocks and leprechauns in every nook, wood paneling covering the walls, cigarette-stains on the ceiling, and bar stools with ripped vinyl, stuffing spewing out like you know you will be after spending a few bucks at the bar.

In March of 1997, I was 19. My good fried Sheila was only 17, but the proprietor of Cozy Corners was not worried about trivial things like that. We decided to walk to Cozy’s, and when we arrived we were greeted by every townie with even the smallest fraction of Irish in them. The place was packed to the brim of its Fighting Irish cheese-grater ballcap.

We were welcomed with a cheer at the bar, but when I asked for a pint of their greenest ale, they told me they’d run out.

“Run out! It’s not even 8 o’clock yet!” A scan of the room revealed a sea of unwieldy patrons, proving the bartender’s claim to be true. Alas, I asked for a pitcher of Canadian.

“If you can wrangle up an empty pitcher for me to put your beer in, I’d be happy to pour it for ya,” the bartender replied. I quickly toured the room, and grabbed all the empty pitchers and glasses I could find. After all, I’d worked at this place; I knew the extra help would be appreciated.

I took my full pitcher back to a table, where 40 of my closest neighbours were huddled.

“Where have you been?!?” Sheila looked annoyed, but smiled brightly when I showed her the beer. “It’s not green!”

“They ran out.”

“They ran out?!?” Sheila pouted briefly, and then suddenly grabbed my shoulder. “Oh my god, you’ll never guess you just tried to pick me up! Mr. Garrett, the old janitor at St. Mary’s School! It was horrible.”

“Really? I though Mr. Garrett was dead?”

“I thought so too. I had to crawl under the table to get away from him.” Sheila slugged back some beer like Norm Peterson on holiday.

After a couple hours of drinking beer, inhaling beer on people’s breaths, soaking in beer through the skin of our elbows resting on the table, and not voiding our bladders of the beer (it’s advised to not visit the women’s restroom at Cozy’s, especially when your own is just down the road), we were properly pickled. Pickled Green, you might even say.

The walk home was interesting. The roughness of the gravel under my knees as I crawled along my “safe route” on the shoulder of the road didn’t bother me any. It was either that, or risk being hit by car on the road to my right or drowned in the deep ditch to my left. The actual distance between my house and Cozy’s is less than 500m, but for some reason, the walk home that night seemed to take forever.

Once on my bedroom floor, the spins took over. I closed my eyes, only to see shamrocks and leprechauns dancing inside my eyelids. My next view was of the inside of the toilet.

I woke up the next morning, stiff from my chilly sleep on the bathroom floor. My stomach churned, and my head felt like a week-old haggis. Another successful St. Patrick’s Day!

posted by Unknown @ 12:39 p.m.