The Art Gallery

Even though we are experiencing a huge cold snap, I felt like I had been cooped up far too long to stay in. And besides, I wanted to go see the Ansel Adams/Alfred Eisenstaedt photography exhibit at the AGO before it closed.

So even though I was still kinda weak, I ventured out with a buddy, to rejoin the "outside world".

The exhibit was amazing. I'm totally in awe of both photographers' skill and work and I'm glad I didn't miss it. It inspires me to shoot more black & white and just generally, enjoy myself, and create something.

Outside of the feature exhibit, my buddy and I highly enjoyed this piece by Julian Opie, titled, "This is Shahnoza". (It's the piece on the wall. It stretched along the entire expanse of the room housing the Henry Moore sculptures.)


A highly provative piece, made sanitary by the usage of outline, it was uber-cool. We wished the gallery would commission prints of this piece because it'd probably make cool wall art for a bachelor pad. (Not mine, but my buddy's, of course) All in all it's been far too long since I visited the AGO, and I hope to continue my excursions to these types exhibits on a more regular basis.

The Best Ham and Cheese Ever

Every Tuesday after work, I do my jaunt over to arnis class at Combat Science at Dupont and Lansdowne. It's a part of the city I don't usually venture out to since it's in the west end and I've always been an east end kinda gal.

I stole this shot as a souvenir of the fading daylight hours as I strolled under the Dupont Street underpass.

Just before class starts, my friend and sparring partner, PinoyTKD, and I usually grab a bite at a local bakery called "Caldense Bakery & Pastry" at 335 Symington Avenue. They make the best ham and cheese sandwich I've ever had! It's like a panino all squooshed (yeah, that's my word) with the cheese all melty, and the crusty bread all toasty which they call a "Tosta Misto". Damn good stuff.

My regular Tuesday night dinner. Mmmmm.

The Kid

Having YummyMummy's two year old daughter follow me around all weekend was great. She's an adorably inquisitive toddler whose favourite (and seemingly only) word is "yes". There was rarely a moment when she wasn't attached to my knees.

It helped me with perspective... and solidified for me that I definitely want the joy that is having a child in my life. I hope I'll make a good mom. I know I'm a good aunt, but motherhood is something else altogether. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Also, the cutie was a great CHICK MAGNET. Girls were all over me and the kid whereever we went. That's something to keep in the mind for future reference!

YummyMummy and I never did have "that talk". I found out that she herself was going through some trials herself. During the weekend I realized that I'll support her in whatever life crises she's going through, and hopefully with time, she'll see that her judgements of me and my lifestyle aren't so important in the grand scheme of things. I'm the first gay person she's ever had in her life. I suppose it's new to her too.

Watching her with her two-year-old daughter, and five-week-old son makes me miss the simplicity of being younger. Then I look at what kids nowadays have to experience and I realize that the "simple times" are really just a myth. We all deal with issues. We are just armed with different tools at different stages of our lives.

Here's to glimpsing things through others' eyes, and remembering that we are never alone. Someone, somewhere, has survived this trial before, and you will too.

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On a completely seperate topic, I discovered that Tim Horton's in Rochester serves MUCH LARGER sizes of coffee. Check it out... I have a supposed "medium" coffee in my hand! Man. Those Americans and their grotesquely large serving sizes.

The Cottage Weekend

I went to a cottage for the very first time this weekend.

I am definitely what you would a call a suburban girl. The closest I typically get to nature is in cosmetically pruned parkettes and the patches of green between subdivisions, so being in the "real" outdoors was a nice change of pace. The air was so clean, it felt practically toxic to my city-trained lungs.

My girlfriend's best friend's family owns a cottage on Georgian Bay near Thornbury and Meaford, so we three spent the weekend just chillaxin' and of course, drinking. I think I drank something like one 750ml bottle of alcohol each day. A nice slow burn. One nice bottle of Masi Valpolicella red wine from Italy, and a bottle of an egg-nog-like tasting liquer called Ponche Kuba.

I also had my first taste of S'mores. Mmmmmm.

I was so drunk by Saturday night, that I think I completely missed our nighttime bonfire. I fell asleep in FoxyLady's arms, and babbled incoherently in my sleep. I don't remember her tucking me, but I awoke the next morning in my pajamas and in bed.

I even managed to brush up on my rusty cooking skills. I made a special dinner on Saturday consisting of Sweet Italian Sausage Rigatoni with Roasted Portabello Mushrooms, in a Red Wine Tomato Sauce. Yum. I put it together one night a long time ago based on my personal hankerings, and have been experimenting with it ever since. It's become my favourite dish to make for special people in a quiet dinner environment.

Even though Reese, the uber-geek, brought along her laptop, Pocket PC, cellular phone, and digital camera, I did manage to let go of my incessent schedule-keeping for at least two days. Not bad for a self-professed anal-retentive personality! I even removed my watch for a time. For a short time maybe, but I don't promise miracles!

Thanks to FoxyLady and Buddy for a wonderful weekend away fraught with quality time, and plenty of drinking and eating!

Some photos for your enjoyment:

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Photo Credits: Revisionist Reese

The Canadian Falls ARE Nicer!

FoxyLady and I had reservations for our trip to Niagara this weekend, and so in order to not lose money, we went anyway. It was our first trip together and even though timing could have been better, I didn't want it to ruin our weekend. I was feeling much better anyhow and figured the antibiotics were well on their way to fixing me up. I planned on just taking it easy and monitoring myself.

We stopped off first in Niagara-on-the-Lake and strolled around their main street. I finally know what the fuss about this place is about. It really is quite quaint and beautiful. Managed to look at all the pretty flowers and catch a parade of sorts.

The strolling brought on the hunger so we enjoyed a lovely lunch of fresh fruit, sandwiches and pate at The Buttery, a local spot famous for its weekend Henry VIII feasts, and lovely patio.

After our leisurely lunch we then took the scenic drive up to Peller Estates Winery where we partook of the complimentary tour. On the tour we were privy to sampling a few of their wines. Now, I'm already a big fan of ice wines, (Come now, who isn't?) but the tour guide opened my eyes to the orgasmic experience of tasting a Cabernet Franc ice wine. It was the most amazing ice wine I've ever had and it was based on a red wine (my favourite kind) to boot!



After being a little tipsy from multiple glasses of wine (I lost count) in the hot summer sun, we then participated in a tasting dealing with The Art of Wine and Food.


At this tasting, the instructor introduced us to a new Peller product, known as their "Cristalle", a sparkling white wine infused with ice wine! Yummy!



By the time we were finished at the winery, FoxyLady and I were pretty tipsy, and purchased three bottles of ice wine and the Cristalle.

To work off the alcoholic buzz, we hiked around some local trails enjoying the sunshine and holding hands.


We then headed down to our hotel where we checked in and rested awhile before dinner. Now, I'm vaguely aware of Niagara being the home of cheesiness (second only to Las Vegas), but I was very surprised and amused to see that our room came with a heart-shaped red Jacuzzi surrounded by full-length mirrors. It was so funny that I wanted to take a photo. It was so embarrassing that I decided not to. I spare my readers the image. No need to thank me.

For dinner, my honey wanted to take me to the Skylon Tower and overlook the city as we dined. We ate in their revolving dining room. It was kind of like eating at 360 in Toronto's CN Tower, except much shorter, and looking over a pair of amazing waterfalls. So the same. Except different. Our falls are much nicer. That's just my opinion.


By the time dinner was over, I felt ill. Really ill. My fever returned and I had trouble swallowing. Drat. So now it's Sunday afternoon, and I'm back in Toronto trying to figure out why I'm still sick. I cannot be sick this week. I'm acting manager! This truly sucks. I don't regret the trip though. Spending time with my girl is always worth it.

Now, I sleep.
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Photo Credits: 1 - 4, Revisionist Reese; 5 - 10, FoxyLady

The Pride Pics

These aren't great since I was too far to get any decent shots, but here they are.

This is the bartender from Foxy's I had quite the crush on. Emphasis on "had".


This guy was quite pissed off that the crowd was squirting their waterguns at him. Talk about getting his feathers ruffled! Ha ha ha.


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Photo Credits: 1, 3 - 6, Revisionist Reese; 2, FoxyLady

The Accidental Sleepover

Okay. So I lied about not sleeping over with girls who aren't my girlfriends.

She makes me want to break my own rules. Then again, I'm slowly discovering that I am starting to redefine myself. This is always a good thing. How can I grow as a person without pushing the envelope a little?

While I was very intoxicated last night, FoxyLady invited me over to her home since her folks last minute went away for the entire weekend. I couldn't resist, and well, I was easily coerced. It was an amazing time. We really bonded and let our respective guards down. I don't regret a single moment, except for one.

I was supposed to meet up with ErgoGirl today and spend quality time, but I became one of THOSE girls. You know the type. The type who bails on her friends the moment a cute guy/girl calls. The kind who disappears everytime she's in a relationship. I had sworn to myself after the last major breakup that I would never do that again. And here I was, doing it. I could list plenty of excuses as to why I bailed, but I won't bother. I just let her down, and I let myself down. Sorry ErgoGirl!

On a positive note, I managed to hang out with FoxyLady and her friends at another PND Picnic today. This time I remembered my camera and took several photos. Here are two of my fave's that FoxyLady took herself.

We had so much fun: ate too much Filipino food, enjoyed watching our culture showcase itself, and I got to know her friends better. I was happy to meet her friends because I never had such an appreciation for the Pinays from back home, let alone the lesbian ones. They were able to enlighten me with stories from their past. My favourite part was when FoxyLady and I felt a little playful, and fake-wrestled in the park, much to the enjoyment of a large group of guys barbequing nearby. I don't think I've ever been cat-called more in my entire life! The two of us just gave each other knowing grins, and hurried back to where our group was hanging out.

As I was getting to know her friends and sharing stories, I noticed how quiet she was being. Even though I was occupied with laughing and swapping tales with her buddies, I did see out of the corner of my eye that she was watching me. While I was still carrying on my conversation, I could feel her arms wrap around me as she leaned in and kissed me on the head. I had no clue what it was for, but at that moment I knew: This is definitely more than just dating. She couldn't take her eyes off me, and couldn't let go either. I felt such complete joy, and was surprised at how easily it came. I have been a cynic much too long.

We had plenty of moments like that the entire day. I look forward to more.

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Photo Credits: FoxyLady

The Best Birthday Gift Ever

Whew! I'm still reeling from last night.

I had dinner and several martinis with some friends at a great little restaurant downtown called Byzantium. The martinis were awesome, and very very potent. I completely forgot about my knee pain and everything else that's been going on! It was also really great to see some people that I've been isolated from for six weeks. I even got a small assortment of cool gifts which was completely unexpected.

One of my favourite gifts was this little gem:

It's basically a button with a pin on the back which enables one to go around and get people to play "Wheel of Pleasure" with you.

Later on, when we got to Foxy's and Coyote's, I decided to give this little puppy "a spin". (Yes, that's a pun.)

The thing works. Very well. All too well. I can't decide which.

I don't think I've been kissed that much in one night ever. I still have a stupid grin on. I even made the mistake of bringing along my camera for the night. Silly friends. I now have a series of photos of everyone's boobs (male and female).

Thanks go out to:

• the hot little bartender who hooked me up with free drinks all night, and was fast and loose with the kisses


• all my friends who "gayed it up" for a night


• the cute thang who in my drunken state I mistook for one of my friends and in return she smiled and got my number

Thanks again. It was awesome and just what this housebound invalid was needing.

Happy Birthday to me!

The Wreckage

I'm very drained. My folks and I just got back from the tow yard where my car is being stored. I went to go get all my personal belongings that I had neglected to bring with me post-accident, most important of all, my glasses and my house keys.

TIP: Take your keys after an accident. At the very least take all your non-car keys.

I really wish I didn't let that tow truck driver take my car because not only is it an additional cost, but it also is a company that is located in the opposite direction of my home. We had to drive to Etobicoke!

I sat in the back seat of my parents Corolla the whole trip, fussing over my pains, and trying to ignore my perma-headache. I will admit to feeling kind of nauseous as we drove along the same highway that I had my accident on just barely 14 hours prior. I forced myself to think calm, positive thoughts. That didn't work. I instead focused on my throbbing headache.... and that did the trick. It's true what they say about pain. If you want to ignore it, focus on something more immediately painful.

Anyhow, my folks at this point only could imagine what the car looked like based on my description. To be honest, I barely remembered what the damage was, or at least didn't want to. As soon as my parents saw the wreck, they both broke down in their own unique way. My mom sobbed uncontrollably, and my dad wanted to touch every mangled part of my car. As for me, I just hurt inside seeing my car, my baby, my only true asset, smashed up like that. It was true. She's gone.

For the morbidly interested, here are the photos I took for documentation purposes.

My crazy Dad wanted to pose for a photo with my car as a "souvenir". How insane is that? And I'm the one supposedly with head injuries? I took the photo anyway just to humour him. Then I spent some time alone in the driver's seat saying goodbye to my baby. I literally hugged the steering wheel farewell.

Driving home, we passed by the exact location of my accident. By that time, I was strangely detached.

"It's just a dented guard rail. It's just a piece of highway. Nothing special about it. It looks like every other part of the road. I almost died there. I didn't. I was lucky."

I guess now this whole thing is real for me.

Da Lego, Da Lego... wha wha, Da Lego

To fundraise for our local Habitat for Humanity, my office built a Lego house. Needless to say, I got a little crazy with my digital camera.

Welcome!


Lake Cruising


Master Potter wants a swim?

The Photo Mission

Even though it was blistering cold outside today, my fellow photojunkie pal, Prince Dis-arming, and I were determined to grab some shots for an upcoming photo contest. The sun was out and it was a gorgeous day.... but damn was it ever cold! I think we hit a low of -31 degrees Celsius.

We both shoot digital, so the concerns of freezing our expensive toys were valid (the cameras, not our keisters). Prince Dis-arming is using Canon's brand-spanking new Digital Rebel... and boy is it ever sweet! The sucker shoots really fast! (The camera, not my friend, although he's been known to be a little trigger-happy too. I digress) And let's not forget about the image quality! It's no wonder that so many film-holdouts are converting to digital this year.

I myself (as opposed to you, yourself) shoot with a Nikon CoolPix 5700 and I managed to grab a few print-worthy shots. I think next time I'll try and get up earlier to get some more of that limited winter daylight. But who am I kidding? I went to bed at 6am this morning!

This shot is too overcast, but I found the "upwards shadow" effect interesting. Otherwise, I think this photo mostly sucks.

Anyhow, with last night's partying, today's photo excursion and a BIG Chinese New Year dinner (the actual dinner being big, not that the party was hosted by obese Chinese people)... I am one wiped cookie. I promise to be more interesting in the next couple of days. And if I'm not... well, you can stop reading my blog. And if you don't, well, then I think you have some issues yourself doncha?