Drinking in L.A.

Last week Leah and I went to Los Angeles for my brother's wedding. Today I feel sort of like I've been kicked in the head. Getting up at 7 in Toronto is like getting up at 4 in California. Also, going to work after a week off is extra fun.

Anyway. It was a great Hunter gathering, and the time went by too fast. Delvyn and Charity had a super-awesome wedding. We went to Disneyland, the beach, In-N-Out Burger, Hollywood Blvd, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Rodeo Drive, and a gun store...

weekend

It was a long one...

Friday afternoon - we did a whole lot of laundry. That evening we fired up the barbecue, and J&D&K came over.

We went over to A&E's a few times, to feed their cats. While we were there, we tried running through some old songs. The neighbours couldn't handle it though, so we stopped.

After church, we went to the Woods' place, for another barbecue.

On Monday, we celebrated Leah's birthday by going to the airshow and getting sunburned. Wicked farmer's tan.

weekend

I have a headache this morning.

On Friday we went to the Golden Turtle for dinner. Afterwards we dropped by the Wood's.
On Saturday, I got a haircut. In the afternoon, we went to Darryl's studio. He has been shooting kids videos, and Leah got to sing and play guitar. I got to change out backdrops.
On Sunday we did some more work on the front door. After church we went out for dinner. We were going to go to Wavelength, to see the Wilderness of Manitoba, but they wouldn't let Leah in without i.d.

update the weekend

Here we go...

Friday night - we walked to Christie Pitts for ice-cream. Afterwards we went to the Delaware House to see The Wilderness of Manitoba play their CD release party. The Delaware House is a house on Delaware Street, and they host live concerts in the tiny garage in their back yard. The garden was candlelit and the tiny wooden shack filled up with people. The music was great too, with layers of atmosphere and four part harmonies... and Leah pretty much played their CD on repeat all weekend.

On Saturday I went to Home Depot, which always feels like something of an adventure into suburbia. That evening we went over to Robby and Tirza's for a traditional German dinner! We also looked through their wonderful wedding pictures. I am going to miss them when they leave.

On Sunday, Leah and I took the front door off of its hinges and started the process of stripping it down to the solid wood. It is amazing what you can do with stuff that comes in bottles covered in skulls - years of paint bubble and peel right before your eyes. We had to put the door back on to go to church - and I guess we will keep working on it next weekend...

w33k3ndupd8

...don't feel like it

Friday - we went to the community dinner at Dufferin Grove park. It was like 1990-something. The Woods booked the firepit, so we had Smores after dinner - Germans and Dutch people showed up too. Then we went down to Ossington and Queen. I keep hearing about that part of town - but I had no idea that it was so ridiculous on the weekend - there were people everywhere. I sort of understand residents wanting to fight the bar scene - it is quite the bro-zone - but they should just realize that if they wait a little while, some other part of town will be the new 'cool' hood... Anyway - we split pretty fast.

Saturday - we had an impromptu yard-sale. I think I made about 3 dollars off of books and CDs. We did sell a couple of Leah/Trent albums to the neighbours though... That evening we went to the Square Foot show at the AWOL gallery. The lineup was ridiculous, and once we were inside, the place was too rammed to be comfortable. Afterwards we went to Julie's Snack Bar, for expensive drinks.

On Sunday we went to morning church for a change. Afterwards we went out with a bunch of people for breakfast at Mars diner. That evening, Leah and I had sushi in the park, to celebrate our 6th year wedding anniversary. Then we watched the Secret of Nimh on Youtube.

Absolut

My fave part of JB's lower Bay project was definitely the subway car filled with plants... Here is a video that I found on Flickr, which doesn't quite do it justice, but you get the idea.

Absolutly

Le weekend

I registered to take part in the square foot show at the AWOL gallery... and the deadline for submission was this Saturday. So Friday night had me working on trying to transfer a photocopy to a canvas, without screwing it up too badly. I worked on it 'til two in the morning, and then woke up on Saturday and kept working. Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out according to my perfectionist liking, but I finished it up and dropped it off that afternoon. Good enough.
Leah went out of town on Saturday, to hang out with some high-school friends. I had brunch with Brad, and he walked down to the gallery with me.
That evening I was kinda bored - and walked to the Annex. I bought a falafel sandwich and a coffee, and looked through CDs and records at Sonic Boom. Their store window displays are always amazing - and the Dinosaur Jr one at the moment is maybe my favourite ever!
On Sunday we went grocery shopping. After church we went to Rice Bar with the Germans (Robby and Tirza). We were on the patio when the most wicked lightning storm rolled in. Over the course of the evening, I got a crazy headache. We ended up getting a cab home and I went straight to bed.

back to work

Some things from the weekend:

Birthday party at D&Js
Star Trek at the Bloor Cinema
Art galleries
Cedarvale Park
Rice Bar
Barbecue at the Woods
Taking out 6 weeks of garbage

weekend

let's see...

Bradley came over on Friday night. Afterwards we watched Singles - which I had never seen (and wouldn't necessarily recommend).
On Saturday we did laundry and then went out for Korean food. That evening we went over to D&J's and played Yahtzee.
On Sunday we went to L&L's for brunch/an elders' meeting. Afterwards we walked through Kensington (there was a brief period where the rain actually stopped). Pedestrian Sunday = lots of weirdness in the market. We went to No Frill's for some groceries. And that evening we skipped church and Jen came over for dinner.

This morning is actually sunny. Also, it looks like the big garbage strike might actually be coming to an end.

weekend

Friday - there was a show at the Woods' house. I was tired but it was fun.
Saturday - we had breakfast with D&J at Billy's, which is always good. Afterwards we walked to the Annex with Jen. I got my hair cut by an old barber - I can understand about 25% of what he says to me while he is cutting my hair. We ended up at BMV, where I bought a book and Leah bought a CD. On the way back we walked past the temporary garbage dump at Christie Pitts Park. It is getting gross in this city.
Our upstairs neighbour was rebagging the garbage behind our house when we got home. Critters have been getting into stuff and it was getting nasty.
Sunday - Leah went to play music at our first morning church service. After helping carry her gear to StStephens, I walked into the market. Sunday morning coffee on a patio is way better than church...
When we got home, I watched Slacker. I have been meaning to watch this for years - and it did not disappoint. I have a high Linklater (excessive rambling dialogue) tolerance - and this is now maybe my 2nd fave movie of his (next to Before Sunrise). It sort of made me want to move somewhere a little more sprawling and a little slower paced.
Church was pretty good, and afterwards we went to Rancho Relaxo with the Woods.

It still isn't summer in Toronto - and I'm beginning to think we're just not getting one this year.

long weekend

Not really a long weekend, just one that had a lot of stuff crammed into it.

Friday evening was the wedding rehearsal for K&T's wedding. Leah was playing bass, and I was running sound. On the way home I went tie shopping - it is weird spending money on a piece of clothe to purposefully wrap uncomfortably tightly around one's neck.
We were back at the wedding in the morning. Afterwards, we went home and hung out with P&B, who were spending the night at our house. P and I managed to back a giant van into the neighbours' fence, and then we all headed off to the reception. It was insane.
In the morning, our guests took off after breakfast. Having them stay with us was wonderful - probably my favorite part of the whole wedding weekend!
I walked to the hardware/lumber store and bought a few fence boards! And then we went to church. Leah was playing music and I ended up as the last-minute (literally) sound guy. It is almost fun (but still work) when everything ends up sounding good - and it sounded great! Also, I get to turn it up as loud as I want to.
T.C. was preaching! and it was pretty much everything you might expect. In a good way.

After church we went home and made dinner. Also, I fixed a fence.

weekend

Since I worked last Wednesday (Canada Day), I had Friday off instead, as well as Thursday afternoon.
Leah and I borrowed a car from some generous friends, and drove to a bed and breakfast outside of Orangeville for a couple of nights. It was great (necessery) to get out of town for a little while. We spent a day getting lost at the Elora gorge, and also stopped by Guelph on the way home on Saturday.
Yesterday we went grocery shopping in Kensington, and did some laundry. After church we went to D&J's for dinner.

Toronto is burying itself in garbage.

Happy Canada Day

I'm at work... =(
But I'm taking friday off instead =)

Its the Weekend Update

Hello

On Friday we went to the Rex, for our friend Michael's CD release. It was a great show, and his album also sounds goooood.

On Saturday I went to get a haircut. We had Jen over for an evening barbecue, and then Leah and I went to the Bloor Cinema to watch The Harder They Come. It is a Jamaican movie from 1972 - one of the first ever real Jamaican films - about a singer and gangster played by Jimmy Cliff. The soundtrack is great, and Leah has been listening to the title song on Youtube for the last few days.

On Sunday, I went down to Queen to look at galleries. I talked to someone I used to work with who just graduated from OCAD with a fine art degree. Her first degree was in interior design (1978!).

After church we went to the Woods for a barbecue.

Dramarama

The Weekend...

Friday night... we went out to the (far) east end to feed Dorothy the Cat.

On Saturday we had an elders meeting for church. Since we were in the (far) north end of the city, I went to Ikea afterwards to buy some picture frames. Ikea is insane... and not in a good way. I did enjoy a 50c hotdog though. Leah went to feed the cat.

Afterwards, I hung out with Brad, and we walked the length of the slightly soggy Big on Bloor festival. It was (as always) the strangest possible mix of vendors, with a fairly high toronto diy hipster art school kid representation. My favorite was a stall of journals made from old recycled hardcover books.

That night we went to a low key birthday gathering at the huang/bowser/cumby house. Even though it was Anne's birthday, baby Calla sort of stole the show. I guess it was her one week birthday too.

On Sunday I went east one last time to feed Dorothy. I also played guitar with Leah at church, which meant hauling gear around in cabs. Afterwards, we went to D&J's, to hang out with them and their couch-surfing house guests. We were also hoping to catch the Gertrudes at the Rivoli, but due to some unforeseen factors (like realising mid-cabride that we had left a bag of our stuff, including house keys, at church) by the time we had eaten, the band would have been half-way through their set.

Also, it is summer here now. =)

weekender

On Friday we watched a super-old (1938) Hitchcock movie - The Lady Vanishes - which we borrowed from Bradley.

Saturday involved meeting David and his nephew for breakfast, going jogging with Leah, buying an amp at a yardsale =), finding out that it only half works =( (no left channel), going to Saving Gigi for coffee, and eventually going to Becca T's birthday party. We also talked to Mike periodically, who talked to Laura periodically, who was at the hospital with the Cumbys... who had a little baby in the afternoon.

On Sunday we went grocery shopping, and then walked to church. Afterwards we snuck away to Women's College Hospital and visited baby Calla (and new mom Anne - dad had gone home to sleep for a while). I don't think I have met and held a one day old person before!

On Friday we disassembled the big iron gate on the front porch. It was my first experience drilling out screws (surprisingly easy)... and the place looks much better. Woods and McGhees came over and we hung out.
Saturday involved the landlord being a dork and 'hanging out' half the day. The upside is that the electrical outlet in our kitchen got fixed. That night we had a somewhat successful barbecue (I ran out of fire/charcoal... but most of the food eventually got cooked) with the McGhees and Hodgert/Fennells.
On Sunday, I did laundry. In the afternoon I biked down to Queen and visited some art galleries before heading to Kensington for church in the 'new' building. Afterwards we went to the Cumby/Bowser/Huang residence for dinner.

In other news - it still isn't really summer yet.

Blogging Fatigue

Read an article about some guy's thoughts on twitter here...

Personally, I don't know how or why I continue to check in to Blogger at least (only) once a week... I seem to have managed to maintain this discipline for much longer than any other (more useful) habit I have ever tried to cultivate.

Anyway - sometimes I still think back to the days of scribble.nu... and when writing, and the web for that matter, seemed to serve more of a personal creative purpose. I was also wondering recently if the internet will ever be something people opt out of in their homes... like people without a television. But I think there are far fewer people without a phone than without a tv, and this is probably a more accurate comparison. Maybe people will opt out of having a computer in the house - and will use their phones (the new computers) for email and for checking the weather, and for facebooking their lives...

But when (everyday) I see people walking down the street and typing into a little phone, sometimes I just stop and think, man, that has to be messed up somehow!

ANYWAY - the weekend... moved church from St Andrews to St Stephens (trading saints)... did some laundry... painted the entry hallway at home... had our last ever church service in the old building (FT Unplugged - some originals, mostly covers)...