Home from the Holidays!
I had a great time in Windsor for Christmas, with a couple minor speed bumps. The usual good cheer towards men, but no one said anything about good cheer towards ex-friends and older brothers!
There was this girl I knew in high school- Paula- and we were best of friends in grade eleven. After an argument about the moral ineptitude of making fun of a guy wearing a turban, she decided not to be my friend anymore. It was harsh, but it was 13 years ago. I saw her at Stacey and Chris' party on the 23rd, and she actually went out of her way to avoid me. Funny, eh? Whatev.
My brother was just being himself. And since I've been
extra sensitive this winter, I took his criticisms hard and let it bring me down. I have to stop allowing that to happen. Whatev.
Anyways- I took some pics during my time at home... here's a link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravenswift/sets/72157594450192366/Labels: christmas, family, photos, windsor
Home for the Holidays!
I can't wait!!! Not that I don't love Toronto. But when I go home... it's UBER relaxing. And I don't use the word "uber" lightly.
When I go home, I don't have to worry about waking up to an alarm.
I don't have to deal with the TTC or the irate customers at work.
I don't have to think about what I'm going to eat for my next meal (or if I have to cook it).
I can watch satellite television, and not the crappy rabbit-ear reception I get here.
I can have a bath in their jacuzzi style tub, and not get attacked by my cheap shower curtain that insists on sticking to my legs when I turn the water on.
I can walk out the front door of my dad's house and not be harassed by people asking for money.
When I look out the window, I see the lush yard full of flowers my step-mom keeps, and not the scummy apartment building across from me on Tyndall Ave.
I can see my family, who I know misses me a lot.
I can visit my friends from high school, and catch up on the good old times.
Ahhhh... I can't wait. But like I said, I also love Toronto. It's just a different kind of love!
Labels: christmas, family, windsor
YAY for PREZZIES
Tonight Bex came over and we exchanged gifts. I actually told her what I got her this morning on the streetcar on the way to work. I couldn't help it- she kept talking about all the bike bells she'd been looking at, and she said how she went to a bike shop on Bathurst and she saw this awesome, humongous bell that she totally wanted. Well- that's the one I'd already gotten her! She's gonna bling it out.
She got me a stocking full of a bunch of good stuff like shampoo and chocolate and a lint roller and socks and a reading lamp clip and a book called
101 Reasons to Dump Your Man and Get a Cat.
"A man can't use his whiskers to tell if his body will fit somewhere." "If your man poops on the rug, there's a much bigger problem.""Cats
never have difficulty showing emotion."
Oh- and she got me some kleenex! She knows me so well...
And she got a present for herself- some new sunglasses (Versace, no less... haha- they're knockoffs). I tried both pairs of her sunglasses on so she could compare. This photo made me laugh out loud for a long time!
Labels: bex, christmas
Skating and Potluck
Friday we decided to hit the DJ Skate at the
Natrel Rink at the
Harbourfront Centre, and I decided to hit the ice as hard as I could with my left knee. Ouch! It was pretty painful... no more skating for me!! But it was awesome to see everyone else circling the rink, and to take some nice pics!
Yesterday we had our annual holiday potluck dinner. We ate dinner at Bex's apartment, and did presents and had drinks at my place. It was a nice evening and we had a great time- I haven't laughed so much in a loooong time! Good food, too- lasagna, stuffed peppers, enchiladas, apple pizza, hummous, cheese fondue, and lots of yummy cookies (including
My Hanukkah Cookies).
And finally, here's my Christmas Tree. It smells great. I bought it from a convenience store on Queen West near Dunn Street. Only $25! Isn't it cute! A little on the "charlie brown" side (there are filler branches in there), but really not bad at all. Thanks to
Bex for helping me walk it home through Parkdale singing Christmas carols!!
To see all the photos from skating and the potluck, click the link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravenswift/sets/72157594424984509/Labels: christmas, harbourfront centre, photos, potluck
What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?
| You Are a Fruitcake! |
You taste like nothing else in this world.
And get ready, you're about to get tossed! |
I do NOT like fruitcake. Please don't buy me fruitcake!
Labels: christmas, quiz
It All Makes Sense...
The premature cabin fever, the overwhelming winter- or should I say- autumn blues... it's a certified seasonal disorder... well, I'm sure the gloomy weather we've been having isn't helping, anyways. And it's been
unusually dismal these past few months, according to Environment Canada.
Instead of the normal 475 hours of sunlight we normally get in the months of September, October and November, we only got 343 hours. Crazy, eh? And we haven't had a stretch so gray since the year I was born- 1977.
"We were robbed of about 130 hours of sunshine we would normally get in that period, so I can understand why people who suffer seasonal disorders would have been depressed," Environment Canada's senior climatologist Dave Phillips said. "They would have had a miserable season, and the fall really should be a glorious time."
I normally feel the affects of
Seasonal Affective Disorder in February... depression, lethargy, general apathy. But at least then I expect it coming. This fall it took me by surprise. I think I'm past it now though, and knowing the cause makes me feel a lot better!
Update: So I got to wondering, is there a ceremony or ritual I can perform, anything that addresses my dependency on the sun? I looked up "the sun" in my Easy-to-Use Shamanism book (I know it sounds corny, but it's a pretty cool book!), and lo and behold, there's an activity that may be able to help me. Basically, I have to keep a record of energy levels (of mind, body, spirit and emotions) in comparison to the cycles of the sun and moon.
"Knowing how our personal aspects of heart, mind, body and spirit are affected by lunar and solar energies gives us invaluable information, which can help us to manage our energy, suiting our activities and plans to our energy peaks and troughs; this knowledge, and the sense of being in step with the sun and moon also connects us to the land that we share with them."
So I think that's what I'll do.
Labels: weather
Christmas Wish List
So- for anyone out there buying me gifts this year for Christmas... here's my Wish List!
Food processor
Socks
Long underwear
Countertop dishwasher/new dish drying rack
Old Navy gift certificate
Chapters gift certificate
Blender
Harry Potter DVDs
X-Men DVDs
Black picture frames (any size)
The Sims 2
Indoor bike trainer
Telephoto lens (Canon EF)
Tripod
Pirates of the Caribbean- Dead Men’s Chest DVD
Leather gloves
Biking gloves
Nail care kit
Kitchen knife setLabels: christmas, wish list
Looking Ahead...
It seems I'm already a victim of cabin fever... the winter's not even officially started, and I'm already thinking of what I want to grow in the garden I'm going to plant next spring. Two summers ago, James and I grew tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, carrots and lettuce, and it was awesome. So, I'm looking forward to raking a rectangle into my stoned-over back yard next May.
And then today on
Treehugger.com, there was this
story about a guy in the States, who's traveling the country building custom gardens in people's front yards. He calls it Edible Estates. His motivation is the fact that grass lawns are a waste of water and space. Instead, he wants to see lush, productive gardens. "The ultimate goal," Fritz Haeg says, "is to have everyone that comes in contact with the project, in whatever way, to reconsider how they occupy their land."
Awesome idea, eh? Man, my dad would have a humongous garden in front of his house... the lawn is pretty big. I don't think they have to water it too often though. Hopefully not, anyways!
Labels: randomness, treehugger
Lack Lack Lack Lack
Sorry for the lack of posts in the last week. After last Monday, I just wasn't in the mood for sharing.
I would like to thank everyone who commented on my last *depressing* post; your kind thoughts definitely gave me a boost. I can't really say that my personal opinion of myself has improved at all, but it certainly makes life a bit easier to know that there are people out there- friends and strangers alike- who care enough to comment! That's just the way it goes, I think... one day you feel hopeless, worthless, like there's nothing in life that has any point at all... and the next day you wake up and things just don't seem quite as bad as they did 24 hours earlier. It's like that for me, anyways.
Last week was still pretty tough though. After that brutal Monday was a painful Tuesday. I twisted my back, or something, and it's been stiff and ouchy since. I have no idea. Meh.
So the question was- would I still be able to go to the Sloan show on Thursday, now that standing was a problem?!? I hummed and hawed about it, right up until we left the Golden Griddle (when I met James and Amy for pancakes before the show). James informed me that there were seats available, and you could see the stage just fine from them. I went, and we lucked out by getting a spot along the back wall- with a clear view of the band. They only played a couple songs I knew, though (most were from their monstrous new release- 30 new tracks!), and we left before they finished playing. I have a feeling they played a couple more popular songs after we left, but whatev. James and Amy said they needed to go, and I didn't feel like sitting there by myself!
I did buy a shirt though, to prove I was there. I buy a shirt at every concert I go to, and I've kept them all. From Lollapalooza 1994 to all the Hip concerts I've been to. Wait- I didn't get a shirt from the Scissor Sisters show... I'm not even sure if they were selling merchandise or not!
Labels: concert, music, sloan
