Pi, Purple, and Pottery

My weeks are starting to look almost identical, at least with regard to my set schedule from Monday to Thursday - Oscar movies, badminton, trivia, dodgeball.  Repeat.

This past Monday we watched Life of Pi and I brought 3.14 cherry pies, which actually looked like awful olive weird things and weren't great, and some sort of Indian hickory sticks.  Dru brought super spicy samosas (but apparently only to me and the two present children) and blue ocean cocktails while Jen made tiger cookies, without a cookie cutter.  Moms never cease to amaze me.

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Having been around the block once or twice on the dating scene, I have become adept at the "break-up".  And I use this term very loosely; I don't mean with actual relationships, I mean with those fleeting encounters that comprise of one to four dates.  These are not relationships, they are blips on the dating journey on my way to happily ever after.  They're trying people out to see who fits.  Very few fit.  Once I realize this, usually very quickly, I am insistent on treating the person with enough respect to be up front and straight forward about my interest, or lack thereof.  When it comes to dating, or any relationship really, there is nothing worse, more rude, more disrespectful and more hurtful than disappearing from someone's life without an explanation.  So, in this way, I am a big fan of telling and being told the truth, straight up, rather than dodging calls and ignoring texts.  Ok, maybe 'fan' is the wrong word.

However, since I insist on doing this with every unsuccessful date I go on, I have sent this text/email or made this call more times than I'd like to remember.  Sometimes it's easy and I feel a great relief at tying things up in a nice bow and other times I feel disappointed, dejected and emotionally spent.  This past week was one of those times.  Dating can really chip away at your optimism some days.  Most of the time I enjoy dating, meeting new people, the hope that exists that maybe you'll really hit it off, and the excitement and butterflies of a first date.  But once in a while, after going on yet another date with someone who you don't feel "IT" with, it can be really disheartening.  That was my week.

But on the upside, I did get an email this week that went like this: "Hey. What's up?  Your pretty."  Awesome.

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Nothing cheers one up like eating French toast on Pancake Tuesday with a friend while being introduced to this season of "The Bachelor".  Andreana filled me in on all the crazy details (i.e. crazy ho-bags) and I found myself instantly invested.  It is a good thing I don't have cable at home.
Sample quote from aforementioned ho-bag: "I can't control my eyebrow!"

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Wednesday was "Hamilton Day" for me as it brought both a HIVE meeting and a South Sherman neighbourhood meeting.  The South Sherman meeting was a presentation on women in our neighbourhood and how their sense of place is created.  There were about 30 people in attendance and quiche!  That was unexpected.  The funny thing about our neighbourhood is that it varies greatly.  It is a predominantly blue-collar, lower to middling income area, but a gentrification trend is growing and there are a lot of young professionals buying houses here.  So, at the meeting, it was quite a cross-section of residents.  My friend and I made up the "I'm-dressed-up-from-my-professional-day-job-and-wearing-a-fur-collar-and-heels-and-likely-giving-off-a-snobby-vibe" portion of the crowd.  Whatever.

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It's almost Oscar night, the night where all these terrible movies I've been watching the past two months will be worth my while.  Or not really at all.  Either way, the hunt continues for the perfect (awful) Oscar dress.  The last several years have been all over the place, but I'm looking for an amazing taffeta confection with bows if possible.  This was a serious contender, but it didn't fit:

It also seems like I have a strong affinity for purple this year, but we'll have to see what my stylist says.  This contender, while is super droopy and makes me look like I have massive saddlebags, is really comfortable.  Doesn't that count for something when you're sitting around eating and watching TV, which is essentially what our Oscar parties are all about?

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This afternoon, a friend and I tried our hand at pottery with a McMaster University alumni event at the Dundas Valley School of Art.  I've never done anything like this and I wouldn't say I'm that great at visual arts, but I thought it would be fun to try.

We did two types of pottery - one dry with our hands and one wet with the wheel.  Truth be told, we both signed up to use the wheel.  I was pretty proud of my dry one, especially when the instructor used it as an example to the rest of the class.  Until she told me that the sides were too thin and it would crack into a million pieces in the kiln.  Humph.

Using the wet wheel was exactly the opposite of the scene in the movie Ghost, but still really fun.  And messy.  I made...guess...a bowl.  Yep, that's pretty much what I could 'master' in a couple hours.  In two weeks, we come back and glaze/paint our creations and then presumably give them to our parents so that they can relive decades past by receiving a gift seemingly made by a child.

 

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This week I had to replace my second car horn in the last several years.  The only explanation I can think of is that the craftsmanship of automobile noise makers has really declined recently.  Someone should really look into this.

Delinquent Sunday

Uh oh.  It's Friday.  I have sunk back into my delinquent ways and did not muster the effort to post on Sunday.  But, better late than never...  That's actually not true.  I remember a specific friend situation with a boy years and years ago where he frustrated me so much by being late that I would wish him to be as late as possible so that I could legitimately be angry with him.  It had dysfunction and passive-agressive written all over it, and shocker (!) we're no longer friends.

We are nearing the end of our Oscar Movie Mondays and this week's film was "The Master" with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix.  It was bad.  I mean, "I-fell-asleep-halfway-through" bad.  I'm just so tired of having to watch these nominated films when nearly all of them are dour, depressing and downright dull.  Come on Academy, give me something that can make me smile or laugh.  Remember the days of Slumdog Millionaire, Life is Beautiful, Chicago and Forrest Gump?

In any event, we did make our own version of Torpedo Juice, a home made chickpea spread that was NOT hummus and did NOT have anything to do with the movie (this was obviously my contribution) and cookies bought by someone with their MasterCard.  Well, there you have it.

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One of my favourite Hamilton winter daytime food-related downtown events on a Wednesday is SoupFest.  In support of Living Rock, dozens of restaurants compete for the title of Best Soup and Most Creative, among others.  For me, it's a great excuse to come and eat soup on a cold February day.  This year, I went with Tracy and I sampled the following:

Baci Restorante - Salted Caramel Apple with Smoked Chicken
4th Course Bistro at Copetown Woods - Roasted Tomato with Pancetta & Mascarpone
Jack & Lois - Garlic, Double Smoked Bacon and Chive
Vicar's Vice - Cheeseburger Soup

As awful as it sounds, the Cheeseburger Soup was amazing and I was not at all deterred by the fact that I had dinner plans for super burgers at The Works later that day.  The Salted Caramel, while creative, tasted like melted candy and cavities.  But mostly, the afternoon was a great time to catch up with my friend and avoid mascots.  What is it about mascots that think grown adults want to interact with them?  I just keep my eyes straight ahead and ignore them.  Or try to trip them.  Those big dumb feet don't have a chance.

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Secrets.  Is keeping them the worst?  Or is having them get out the worst?  I've been thinking a lot about secrets recently.  I find that I have a hard time keeping secrets about myself from my close friends.  I've always been a fairly open book because I think it's one of the best ways to develop and grow friendships.  What's the point in being friends with someone who doesn't let you in at all?  However, there are a couple secrets that I can see the purpose in keeping under wraps.  But I find it hard!  Sometimes it's all I want to do, is spill.

And then when a secret gets out, by choice or not, there is a whole other level of stress.  Keeping a secret inside at least guarantees that I am in control of the information and how it affects people.  Once someone else knows, it's out there and who knows what will happen?  This makes me nervous.  But when you get to unload a secret, there is a sense of relief as well.  It just depends which is more overwhelming: stress or relief.  I've been flip flopping between the two all week. 

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It was finally time for our Annual Ski Trip to Blue Mountain.  In reality, only 2 or 3 people actually take advantage of the slopes while the rest of us juggle our time between the hot tubs, eating cheese and the snow roller coaster.  This year we planned to leave on the snowiest Friday in memory.  A crazy storm blasted Southern Ontario and I spent most of the morning shovelling my car out.  Once I finally got the car on the road, I was stranded no less than 20 feets from paved main road paradise.  There I sat, helpless, until someone offered me a shovel and three gracious men pushed me out.  It was awful and all this just to get to the end of my block.

Luckily, my parents lent me their trusty car with snow tires, heated mirrors and heated wipers - it handled beautifully.  We made our way to Collingwood and from door to door, including two friend pick-ups and a stop at McDonalds to calm my nerves, the drive took us 6.5 hours.  Somehow, our friends who left later from Guelph and Toronto arrived in only 2.5 hours.  The drive sucked, either way and we were relieved to make it there safely...and ready for a scotch.

We were only able to arrange for a two night trip this time and it seemed to fly by, but it's always fun to get ten friends together in one place.  Our itinerary:

- Snow rollercoaster, screaming optional
- Hot tubbing, sunburned nose optional
- Cheese...all of it
- Smoked Salmon, Costco sized
- Giving fake names at Starbucks
- Basking in the sunshine in Adironack chairs by the frozen lake
- Ice skating
- Disgusting mouth pictures
- General show cavorting, slamming into snow covered stone wall optional, although not for me
- Charades
- Poker
- Laughing loud enough to get security visits three times in one night
- Engaging in snowball fight with hooligans
- Salted caramel brownies

*Those aren't all my coffees*

*Fake eating BeaverTail photo*
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I like this wedding dress.  That's all.

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I don't even feel bad that this block of havarti looks exactly like a pound of butter.  Or that I ate it all, over the past week.  Not bad at all.

So Soonday?

Another weekly recap...

For our Oscar Movie Monday viewing of Lincoln, I decided to make the ultimate American dessert - the apple pie.  It was added to the array of chicken fricasée with biscuits, President sparkling wine and these boozey bourbon pecan bites.  All delicious, which was lucky, because the movie was anything but.  Snoozefest 2013.

This week, we're watching The Master which is loosely (?) based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.  I've been trying to come up with cult-ish and crazy foods and again am drawing blanks.  What would Tom Cruise or John Travolta bring?

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I have been driving around town laughing uncontrollably the last few weeks every time I see this billboard.  I think it is one of the funniest images I've ever seen.  Even right now, I'm cracking up.  That wig is hysterical.

Plus it appeals to the side of me that always finds it funny when babies fall down or freak out on America's Funniest Home Videos.

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I often find it amusing or interesting or ... something, when places, people or experiences come flooding back from the slightest of influences.  Like a song being played that brings back all these memories from a time in my life so far from what my life is now.  Often these memories are associated with past relationships and I find it both comforting and strange that both parties can recall the exact same thing when a song is played and it's almost an involuntary memory recall.  It's just a small way to remember things long dismissed, but really nice to have the reminder.

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As dodgeball gave us a bye this week, I was able to attend the live Hamilton taping of Q with Jian Ghomeshi at Mohawk College with some friends.  I wasn't really sure what I was in for, but it was a great evening filled with Hamilton focused guests, a speaker panel, performances by the Arkells and Rita Chiarelli and great hosting and Q&A with Jian Ghomeshi. 

I've heard of the Arkells for a while now, but never really sought them out to get to know their music - I loved them!  They have a great stage presence and there songs were kicky.  I like the word 'kicky'.  I'm going to go buy their CD.  I still like to buy CDs and I'm going to buy it from Dr. Disc, another Hamilton institution I've never actually been to yet.

I was also introduced to Rita Chiarelli, a Hamilton native, who has an incredible blues voice and a storied career.  Often times I find blues a bit slow and I have to be in a certain mood for it (duh) but she was captivating and I couldn't help but be wrapped up in her music.  Check her out here.

Jian's show draws huge names and really fascinating topics - Thursday night alone covered zombie actors, racist dogs, revitalizing extinct mammals like the woolly mammoth and the issues of the day including Idle No More and David Suzuki.  I've been inspired to listen to his show more often.

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I'm pretty sure there is someone living in my garage.  These footsteps are not mine.

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There was a family outing this week to see South Pacific at Redeemer University.  For a Christian school based production, I was mildly shocked with the amount of nudity and underage prostitution that danced its way across the stage.  But it was entertaining - amateur theatre actors are always the most keen.

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Are these for real?

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Doing quite well with my 2013 goal to become more involved in the Hamilton community and the young professional scene in the city, I was awoken to my Dad knocking on my door like a crazy person, brandishing a camera, pretending to be the paparazzi:  my picture was in the paper.  The Hamilton Community Awards I had attended last week feature a shot of me and my glass of wine. Look Ma!  I'm "Local People".

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Superbowl lowdown:  Beyoncé is my hero.  My friend Dru and I have discussed the feasibility and likelihood of us taking on the task of learning and performing that entire routine.  I'm betting against us...for so many reasons, chief among them, we don't look like that, we can't dance like that and we can't do this:

Easy Like Sunday Morning

And it's Sunday again.  It's been a really great week.

On Monday, I attended the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Hamilton Community Awards on behalf of HIVE - the young professional group hub in Hamilton.  I was at a great table of YPs who I enjoyed getting to know in a more social setting.  Until we went around the table and it was determined that I was the oldest in the group.  By four months, but still.

Afterwards, I joined our Oscar Movie Mondays with Dru and Jen.   We're watching as many of the nominated films as we can before Oscar night.  We watched Silver Linings Playbook, which I had already seen and loathed.  Turns out, I am the only person who feels this way.  Everyone I poll really likes it.  Meh.

We've been doing thematic food and drink for the movies we watched.  Well, to be honest, Dru and Jen have been - I've totally dropped the ball.  There were cajun bayou shrimp, swamp water cocktails and BBQ chips for Beasts of the Southern Wild...

and Polar Ice vodka (a nod to the main character's bi-polar issues) and almond blondies on a literal silver lined playbook for Silver Linings Playbook...

and tomorrow night we're watching Lincoln.  If you have any suggestions, please throw me a bone.  So far, all I have is AbraHAM sandwiches, but Jen is a vegetarian.  Errrgh.

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This week also brought the first dodgeball victory for my team, the Daj Mahballs!  And not just a small margin victory, but a full blow-out.  We were amazing.  It was like we all hit our stride as a team and each individual member was the best they'd been.  I always have a blast playing, but I'll admit that I coasted off this winning high for several days.

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Online dating.  Again. Those two words summon so many thoughts.  While I wish I could post the images and messages for your entertainment, trust me when I tell you that they provide me a daily mix of laughter, exasperation and "Are you freaking kidding me?" faces.  I've already been messaged by a cross-dressing man hoping that we share a love of short skirts.  I can't make this stuff up.

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Have you been seeing all the advertisements lately for these cigarette alternativess?

First of all, what does SNUS mean?  Sinus?  An acronym?  It's been promoted as a drama free alternative to cigarettes.  What does that mean?  Do smokers experience drama?  Perhaps there are turf wars outside on smoke breaks.

I went to the website and it's basically a small pouch filled with nicotine that you slide "under your upper lip and enjoy".  A massive immobile banner on the website yells at you that it causes mouth cancer.  Awesome.

There is also a ridiculous ad campaign for the Blu electronic cigarette starring Stephen Dorff.  Fine, I'm not a smoker.  I never have been, but this all seems silly.  Is good old fashioned will power not an option? I've seen people do it. It's possible.

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Keeping these messages on my kitchen white board always make me smile.  The first one was from my Dad when he installed the board and the others have appeared there after dinner parties or random nights when friends come over.  Except for the mean one from my high school nemesis about my penchant for wearing vests, they're lovely.

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Have you ever bought an apple from the grocery store that actually had the stem on it?  Like a picture.  I felt like I was in a fairytale.  Ok, that might be a bit of a stretch.

Sunday Stories

Happy Sunday everyone and Happy 2013!

An incredible amount of time has passed since I last posted.  I have decided to commit to posting once a week, every Sunday. If I manage to post more often, great, but giving myself the goal of one post per week seems to be a less daunting task in my busy life. So, each Sunday post will be an overview of my past week, including random thoughts and general musings from the previous seven days.


- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. This book was the best book that I read during the entire past year. It is hard to describe, but once I started it I vacillated between wanting to read it in one sitting and wanting to read it slowly to savour each page. It's thrilling and intriguing in a way few books are. There was one passage in particular that really spoke to me - pages 28-30. It describes this single 30-something woman, the protagonist (or is she?) Amy as she manoeuvres her life before meeting her husband.

(I actually have the pages scanned but wasn't sure if I am allowed to post them, so if you're really that curious, let me know and I can send them to you.)

So many of my friends are married and/or seriously coupled and I sometimes feel like the anomaly in the group. This part of the book explains almost exactly my thoughts about being in the position I am - and I optimistically think that my ending will be the same as the last sentence. Of course, there are some elements of the passage that aren't spot on, but for the most part, it is exactly what is going on in my mind most of the time.

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Last week, a friend and I went to a young professional party in Toronto with our party dresses on and our limbs ready to flail akimbo on the dance floor.  Here's the thing about Toronto YP events - they don't turn into a fun dance party.  How is this possible?  We were expecting an Art Gallery of Hamilton CLiC-style  event where at the end of the night, the dance party busts out and then everyone migrates to the Embassy once the event closes down.  Not the case this night.  Instead, there were $15 glasses of wine and lots of looking people up and down while schmoozing.  Some people were actually quite friendly and we had some fun looking ridiculous on the red carpet, but we came prepared to dance!

This is why we stopped by the Embassy on the way home and I danced my heart out.  I was also the most dressed up there and was hit on by a lesbian.  Plus the wine was in plastic cups and cost $3.00.  Awesome, Hamilton.

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As readers of this blog will already know, I love grilled cheese.  No, I mean, really love it.  I go through phases where I try to limit my consumption, but it never lasts.  Especially once I discovered the latest trend sweeping the cookbooks and grilled cheese forums on the Internet (do these actually exist!?) - grilled cheese croutons.  Really nothing more than a sandwich cut up into cubes, but it seems genius.  

I've also started putting Dijon mustard on the bread - this has revolutionized my sandwich.  As with any love affair, you've got to shake things up to keep it fresh.

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I went to my work storage locker the other day and I hope I am not paying extra for the overwhelming pot stench - I'm pretty convinced that some burnouts are living in one of these units and perhaps operating a small scale grow-op.  Also, I passed a few units that were secured with, not one, but two locks.  I am extremely curious about what contents in an east Hamilton storage locker require the expressed "sign off" of two owners.  Diamonds?  Drugs?  Limited edition Beanie Babies?  You've got to be pretty serious about whatever is in there to require both people turn their keys in order to access it.  It's like detonating a missile.

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My youngest brother Greg recently got engaged to the ever lovely Carrie.  I'm so happy for them and it's exciting to help them start to plan their wedding.  

What's not great is perusing the Hamilton Wedding Show last week with only my brother.  Carrie was unable to attend, and Greg wanted to suss out some items, so I agreed to accompany him, as his sister and wedding planner.  It was pretty awkward.  I should have worn a sticker that said, "I am his SISTER."  The only answer I have to "Have you two love birds set a date?" is: "You mean to get the heck out of here?  Yes.  TODAY, right now."

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It is officially awards season for those who follow Hollywood.  The Golden Globes were last week and I watched them with some friends and a lot of cheese.  I may be alone in thinking this, but I found this dress to be the best.  I'm a sucker for a geometric peplum.

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The latest hot button issue around the city lately is the Hamilton downtown casino.  I have recently become interested in this topic and have filled my brain with as much information as I can on it and have attended one of the public forums on the matter.  I know where I stand, but I find myself keeping fairly mum when in groups of people where there are a lot of strong opinions.  People are very fired up about this.  The spokespeople that have emerged for each side are very vocal and watching them debate is entertaining.  The same arguments are thrown around time after time and each side doesn't really address the questions posed to them, instead they always default to their favourite statistics and speaking points.

It would be wonderfully refreshing if those in favour just came right out and said that the reason behind their opinion is that they have the opportunity to make a lot of money.  And it would be equally refreshing if those against came right out and said that the reason behind their opinion is that the current Hamilton downtown core revitalization would suffer and/or come to a standstill - that the city would reverse its trajectory and turn into another depressing city like Brantford or Windsor.  Gambling addiction is the main focus of the opposition and while concerning and certainly detrimental, what the downtown core will turn into is where my head is at.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how the next month unfolds.  The main problem I've recognized is that while most people have an opinion, there isn't a clear channel and method for how to express that opinion to the councillors as the decision makers.  Contacting your local councillor is the most effective way, but I fear that no one is doing that.  Sure, they have a sense of where the community is at based on the two well-attended forums last week, but short of a referendum, the councillors are making this decision for us - that's a lot of pressure.  I encourage you to email your representative with your opinion, whatever it may be.

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This is my new favourite acquisition:

It's pretty self-explanatory.  You open up a page and draw whatever it says to draw.  I'm a constant doodler, so it's nice to have an outlet, as well as some direction.  Otherwise, I just end up drawing eyes for some reason.   And usually only the left one.  Hmmm.

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A couple of my favourite "new" songs to start your week off:

Eliza Doolittle - Skinny Genes

The adorable Olly Murs - Dance With Me Tonight

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This picture always makes me smile.  You should have seen how many people stopped and remarked how they'd never seen a man knitting.  So cute.

Have a great week!

Week Wrap-Up

Pictures from my week:

This freaked me out more than it should have - I actually gasped.  Out of the corner of my eye, it looked very realistic.

 

My most recent foray into the young professional volunteer committee was working on the GenNext My City Masquerade charity casino event.  It was a great experience and a fabulous party!  We raised a lot of money for United Way and the turnout and enthusiasm was like no other.  There were actually four tuxedos that showed up!  With men in them, of course.  My mask looked like a bad ass face tattoo.

 

 

I went a little bake crazy this week.  I was invited to an American Thanksgiving party and with also hosting a dinner party it lead to a full time oven.  So delicious.  Except for that one cake where I completely forgot to include the sugar.  Still turned out okay and now you're not a diabetic.  Uh, you're welcome!

 

 

I went for an actual hike.  It was a beautiful Sunday and I couldn't think of a reason not to get outside.  I haven't hiked much lately and certainly don't really know where to go, so I ended up wandering aimlessly around Dundas.  Webster Falls was an option, but I'm sorry, I have a serious problem with paying to hike.  It would cost be either $4 or $10 to just....walk.  Ridiculous.  So I found my own trail.  Sure, it seemed to be in someone's backyard, but it did the trick.  Brisk air, sunshine, hiking boots (yes, I own some) - perfect November afternoon.  Only one muddy dog jumped up on me and those berries turned out to be non-poisonous.

Parental date weekend - I went to see Argo with my Dad and had brunch with my Mom.  Argo was amazing - one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Even though I knew how it would end, I was still on the edge of my seat and it's so pro-Canada :)  Brunch was at Detour in Dundas, a place I keep hearing about for great (and massive) breakfasts.  Walking around Dundas on a Saturday morning is like being in a movie, of which I am the star. 

Winter 2013 Fashion Forecast:
It's all about the fur.  My dressing room looks like a taxidermy.  Although, they're mostly all fake, so like a teddybear taxidermy.