you know he/she is canadian...
when you approach a staircase to go down while someone is coming up at the same time and when she reaches the top and is nowhere near you but still says, "sorry," that's when you know.
passive.
canadian.
love it.
sorry.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
#110 - old news
as per usual, I picked up the metro this morning to browse through the headlines and do my beloved crossword. during the subway ride, I looked over at a woman reading the metro and noticed a photo of the yanks celebrating their 27th world $erie$ win. I began to flip through my newspaper in search of the same page, but couldn't find it. from the roots advertisement dangling off the page, I knew she was looking at the front page, but it looked nothing like mine. I had a photograph of a model, not alex rodriguez's butt. staring at her newspaper, I felt extremely confused.
different covers.
same date.
north york, toronto. I guess it's not all the same.
where am I? the twilight zone?so I soon arrived at the conclusion that my newspaper was older than hers and the bulk of deliveries headed for subways and downtown got preferential treatment. when I got off at dundas, I picked up a second paper to check out the differences, which were pretty much limited to the front page, but I had to have it.
different covers.
same date.north york, toronto. I guess it's not all the same.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
#109 - three too many
I wiped my hand over the dark green tarp around the huge trampoline in her backyard. fall had come, and leaves of brown and yellow were littered all over the contraption.
"eh, let's just leave it."
we took off our shoes an climbed onto black center, the leaves stuck to our socks. we jumped up and down, one after another in a bouncing syncopation. the leaves jittered up and down with every vibration, eventually gathering and huddling together into piles like little people in need of some security.
"you're only using me for my trampoline," she used to joke. bashedly, I disagreed. those feelings of happiness, laughter, joy would have been non-existent if it wasn't for her presence and comedy.
after we tired of jumping, we'd lie head to head on the trampoline looking at the sky, clouds, and the big willow tree. completely serene, completely peaceful. we'd talk about school, boys, and the future. the future especially -- it was going to be awesome for us.
three years ago, azarnoosh sadeghi died. her heart just... stopped. with all the medical magic and miracle we have today, her actual exact cause of death is still unknown.
and here I am. three years later. I've come a long way from that girl who use to lie on that trampoline talking about hunger and ambition, but I haven't forgotten about it. we knew that we could accomplish big things and do whatever we wanted.
one day, I hope I make our 15 year old selves proud.
and if I have the space, I'm going to buy myself a trampoline -- with dark green tarp.
"eh, let's just leave it."
we took off our shoes an climbed onto black center, the leaves stuck to our socks. we jumped up and down, one after another in a bouncing syncopation. the leaves jittered up and down with every vibration, eventually gathering and huddling together into piles like little people in need of some security.
"you're only using me for my trampoline," she used to joke. bashedly, I disagreed. those feelings of happiness, laughter, joy would have been non-existent if it wasn't for her presence and comedy.
after we tired of jumping, we'd lie head to head on the trampoline looking at the sky, clouds, and the big willow tree. completely serene, completely peaceful. we'd talk about school, boys, and the future. the future especially -- it was going to be awesome for us.
three years ago, azarnoosh sadeghi died. her heart just... stopped. with all the medical magic and miracle we have today, her actual exact cause of death is still unknown.
and here I am. three years later. I've come a long way from that girl who use to lie on that trampoline talking about hunger and ambition, but I haven't forgotten about it. we knew that we could accomplish big things and do whatever we wanted.
one day, I hope I make our 15 year old selves proud.
and if I have the space, I'm going to buy myself a trampoline -- with dark green tarp.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
#107 - the tpl and I
the toronto reference library is getting a $34M facelift. yay!
I have recently rekindled my love affair with the tpl, and I couldn't be happier. when I was about 8 years old, the librarian assistant that was checking out my books gave me a weird look and insisted that what he was holding could not have been my library card. those were they days when crappy pen scanners were used and library cards were red and white and flimsy. mine had cracked in two and was held together by the thin film of plastic on top. eventually one of them got frustrated enough to give me a new one (green and white!) but I digress. so this man says, "this can't be yours, how old are you?" in retrospect, I guess I was just a tiny asian kid, but I gave my age and he was still not convinced. "you had a library card when you were that young?" I looked to my dad, unsure myself. "yes, you've been taking out books since you were two. like every week."
that's one of the clearest memories I have of the library from when I was a youngster. others are muddled in between the high shelves of fairview littered with clifford books, the bins where they kept archie comics, and the turnstiles for various fiction novels. simpler times.
several months ago, my sister brought to my attention that I could take out cds from the library. I remember thinking it was cool, but didn't take any initiative to take a look myself.
since I'm back to working across the street from riverdale library, I wandered over during a lunch break to check out the selection. I had my hands full within 5 minutes and took note of even more I wanted to come back for. there is no limit on cds, which is awesome, but I'd say the assumed limit is as much as you can carry.
so that's where it started. I checked out the catalogue after and found out there is practically every cd you could want. especially if it's mainstream enough -- even the old stuff. sex pistols, patti smith, mika, ashlee simpson. whatever. it's probably there.
I went to north york central and fairview in the following weeks and I honestly had to stop myself from going through all the bins because I had stacked up so many already. since then, I've been on a cd ripping spree and every time I'm missing something/want something in 320kbps, I put it on hold. why did I not make use of this before?
in any case, I'm making use of it now. the best part is that they have discs of foreign music too, so I am thoroughly enjoying some good quality lee-hom wang right now. additionally, you get to browse and pick out things you never would've stumbled upon otherwise. mtv unplugged by 10,000 maniacs is my new favourite album of that genre, all because I caught it in the corner of my eye while I was flipping through discs.
dvds too. popular items like disc 1 of the first season of lost may take longer to get a hold over, but I decided to give frasier a try because it was on the shelf and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I actually understood the jokes! can't say I got all of them, but I could definitely see why they won so many emmy awards.
last exciting thing of note I haven't yet taken advantage of -- music scores. the reference library has the score to pretty much every pop song or classic you could think of and I am itching to go photocopy some sheets. maybe when I have time to play.
welp, my shift is over. I hope my time-passing rave about my love for the toronto public library encourages you to make more use of it yourself. who knows -- maybe you'll find a gem somewhere in those tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
they're callin' again.
I have recently rekindled my love affair with the tpl, and I couldn't be happier. when I was about 8 years old, the librarian assistant that was checking out my books gave me a weird look and insisted that what he was holding could not have been my library card. those were they days when crappy pen scanners were used and library cards were red and white and flimsy. mine had cracked in two and was held together by the thin film of plastic on top. eventually one of them got frustrated enough to give me a new one (green and white!) but I digress. so this man says, "this can't be yours, how old are you?" in retrospect, I guess I was just a tiny asian kid, but I gave my age and he was still not convinced. "you had a library card when you were that young?" I looked to my dad, unsure myself. "yes, you've been taking out books since you were two. like every week."
that's one of the clearest memories I have of the library from when I was a youngster. others are muddled in between the high shelves of fairview littered with clifford books, the bins where they kept archie comics, and the turnstiles for various fiction novels. simpler times.
several months ago, my sister brought to my attention that I could take out cds from the library. I remember thinking it was cool, but didn't take any initiative to take a look myself.
since I'm back to working across the street from riverdale library, I wandered over during a lunch break to check out the selection. I had my hands full within 5 minutes and took note of even more I wanted to come back for. there is no limit on cds, which is awesome, but I'd say the assumed limit is as much as you can carry.
so that's where it started. I checked out the catalogue after and found out there is practically every cd you could want. especially if it's mainstream enough -- even the old stuff. sex pistols, patti smith, mika, ashlee simpson. whatever. it's probably there.
I went to north york central and fairview in the following weeks and I honestly had to stop myself from going through all the bins because I had stacked up so many already. since then, I've been on a cd ripping spree and every time I'm missing something/want something in 320kbps, I put it on hold. why did I not make use of this before?
in any case, I'm making use of it now. the best part is that they have discs of foreign music too, so I am thoroughly enjoying some good quality lee-hom wang right now. additionally, you get to browse and pick out things you never would've stumbled upon otherwise. mtv unplugged by 10,000 maniacs is my new favourite album of that genre, all because I caught it in the corner of my eye while I was flipping through discs.
dvds too. popular items like disc 1 of the first season of lost may take longer to get a hold over, but I decided to give frasier a try because it was on the shelf and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I actually understood the jokes! can't say I got all of them, but I could definitely see why they won so many emmy awards.
last exciting thing of note I haven't yet taken advantage of -- music scores. the reference library has the score to pretty much every pop song or classic you could think of and I am itching to go photocopy some sheets. maybe when I have time to play.
welp, my shift is over. I hope my time-passing rave about my love for the toronto public library encourages you to make more use of it yourself. who knows -- maybe you'll find a gem somewhere in those tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
they're callin' again.
#106 - black holes
who has time to blog anymore?
it's really really really cold these days and my fingers are freezing as I type this. I hope they fix the heater at work soon.
after several trials and tribulations of trying to contact my supervisor and faxing over my tax forms and info, I've given up because no one seems to be at the head office. I better get my cheque next week. grr.
so as many of you probably already know, there's not a terrible lot to do here on most days. it's either a rush of people and questions and things to do, or nothing at all. currently, my coworker is playing poker and this is the conversation that just transpired:
I'm getting this feeling everyone seems to be disenchanted with life right now. in lieu of this, I would like to say to all my homies: we're too young to be unhappy with life. take some time, reevaluate, figure out what you want.
things could be worse, things will get better. you just have to really want it.
it's really really really cold these days and my fingers are freezing as I type this. I hope they fix the heater at work soon.
after several trials and tribulations of trying to contact my supervisor and faxing over my tax forms and info, I've given up because no one seems to be at the head office. I better get my cheque next week. grr.
so as many of you probably already know, there's not a terrible lot to do here on most days. it's either a rush of people and questions and things to do, or nothing at all. currently, my coworker is playing poker and this is the conversation that just transpired:
k: do you know what a beaner is?and that is what goes on here on slow days. my coworker looks very upset right now because he just folded his winning hand. I really don't know the appeal of online poker, but I guess it's like anything else you could get into. it just happens.
w: not sure, let's see.
k: is it a dirty word?
w: it means mexican. it's another name for mexican.
k: why? is it.. cos they collect beans?
w: no, it's because they eat beans. and it's an insult.
k: yeah, cos they're telling this 'beaner' to shut up. and they're not playing poker! ugh!
2 minutes later...
k: how do you spell quiet? q-u-i-e-t?
w: yep
k: *types hastily and hits the enter key with an affirmative force*
I'm getting this feeling everyone seems to be disenchanted with life right now. in lieu of this, I would like to say to all my homies: we're too young to be unhappy with life. take some time, reevaluate, figure out what you want.
things could be worse, things will get better. you just have to really want it.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
#105 - selective virtues
stranger:
were the buses that just passed both 25?
me:
yep. actually, the past five or six were all 25.
stranger:
no 100s?
me:
nope
stranger:
you know, that's so frustrating. why does that happen? do they all take a coffee break at the same time so they all arrive in a row?
me:
haha, maybe. the first one was completely packed, and then it staggered after that.
(another bus is about to approach the stop)
stranger:
don't tell me...
me:
yep, 25.
stranger:
I guess I'll get on it then. I don't have the time to wait. thanks.
--
where do you draw the line between "I'll wait here some more" and "I've waited here too long"? I never know when to leave. more often than not, I stick with "I've waited here too long to leave now" and stick it out. it's not always the wisest choice but it feels like I have to stay there on principle. I'm too stubborn to take extra actions. in today's case -- too lazy. I figured the time I waited for the bus cancelled out the time I would have used taking the bus to pape station and having to transfer via subway to broadview station. so I stayed, and not even a minute had passed when two 100 flemingdon buses showed up. the bus the woman got on instead was at a red light only a few metres ahead.
I got on the 100 bus I dutifully waited for and thought about how patience is a virtue and how there was no need to rush in life.
so these three buses (25, 100, 100) followed each other pretty closely, and then we got to the stop where they split off onto their respective routes.
the stranger I was talking to earlier board the bus. we exchange waves and smiles after she sits down. I mouth to her that I guess she made the right choice after all.
cos really, it was essentially the same choice.
and the moral of the story here is to know your bus routes. logic prevailed, the vulcan way. she knew her stuff so she got off the bus and got on the next one.
I was sitting there thinking to myself -- why didn't I think of that?
I already knew the answer.
I'm really just too damn lazy. but don't fix it if it ain't broke, right? =)
were the buses that just passed both 25?
me:
yep. actually, the past five or six were all 25.
stranger:
no 100s?
me:
nope
stranger:
you know, that's so frustrating. why does that happen? do they all take a coffee break at the same time so they all arrive in a row?
me:
haha, maybe. the first one was completely packed, and then it staggered after that.
(another bus is about to approach the stop)
stranger:
don't tell me...
me:
yep, 25.
stranger:
I guess I'll get on it then. I don't have the time to wait. thanks.
--
where do you draw the line between "I'll wait here some more" and "I've waited here too long"? I never know when to leave. more often than not, I stick with "I've waited here too long to leave now" and stick it out. it's not always the wisest choice but it feels like I have to stay there on principle. I'm too stubborn to take extra actions. in today's case -- too lazy. I figured the time I waited for the bus cancelled out the time I would have used taking the bus to pape station and having to transfer via subway to broadview station. so I stayed, and not even a minute had passed when two 100 flemingdon buses showed up. the bus the woman got on instead was at a red light only a few metres ahead.
I got on the 100 bus I dutifully waited for and thought about how patience is a virtue and how there was no need to rush in life.
so these three buses (25, 100, 100) followed each other pretty closely, and then we got to the stop where they split off onto their respective routes.
the stranger I was talking to earlier board the bus. we exchange waves and smiles after she sits down. I mouth to her that I guess she made the right choice after all.
cos really, it was essentially the same choice.
and the moral of the story here is to know your bus routes. logic prevailed, the vulcan way. she knew her stuff so she got off the bus and got on the next one.
I was sitting there thinking to myself -- why didn't I think of that?
I already knew the answer.
I'm really just too damn lazy. but don't fix it if it ain't broke, right? =)
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