Back in Civilisation!
I'm back in Toronto temporarily until I fly to London [with a Capital 'L'] Friday evening. So if anyone wants to get together one last time, book your appointment now. But please... no drinking. I had a rough weekend, but I had a LOT of quality time with good friends, which was much needed. Knowing that everything is changing, being back in Toronto is a lot more emotionally taxing than I had expected.
On Friday, Chris, Anna, Jeff, Audrey, Dawn and I went to Green Room for one last Hoorah. It was nice, fairly low-key and surprisinglingly packed despite the category 7 hurricane outside. According to Shannen Doherty, that's what happens when two category 5s collide. Man, we're funny. And Mom, you'll be excited to know that Dawn is now a writer for Canadian Idol!
For most of Saturday, Chris and I met up with Ronnie and Laurence to brainstorm, debate and argue rather loudly on the sales floor of Zara, what we believed would be a really thoughtful, special birthday / going away gift for Steve. We thought we nailed it. I hope we were right. As a result, I reluctantly ditched Lia and a BBQ at my thesis supervisor's house in The Beach. Later in the evening, the four of us plus Julio + Rob collectively decided it would be best to go out clubbing at our beloved Buddies. Naturally, it was an AMAZING time because so many other cool people were there including John, Trevor, El Salvador and Jeff. It was nice to see so many friends in one night. After much dancing upon stages, talking with strangers, a 'Minority Report' incident, obligatory street meat and alledged pickle disaster, I had a really good 3 am talk with Chris about the sources of all my stress right now. Well, he did most of the talking.
On Sunday, I spent some time hanging out with Gerg, the former roommate and we drank a bit on SKYLAB's balcony while we aborbed the BEST view of Toronto from a residential building. We chatted about all of the changes that have been made to the apartment: new lights, new light switches, a spice rack with spices no one has ever heard of, a lime green hallway, a bedroom swap and new furniture! The place looks fantastic and I really want to live here again!
On Monday, I definitely owed Lia some quality time so we had a PLANNERS breakfast with Laurence. We went to China Town for some Vietnamese food. In the spirit of new beginnings, I tried Bun and Pho for the first time. Laurence tried to kill Lia with some cream in her coffee [she's allergic to dairy]. Then again, Laurence always tries to kill people through allergic reactions [kidding.. kinda :) ]. Afterwards, we had an adventure suited for a Magistrate of the Environment... or a Waterloo undergrad! We went for a stroll to The Beach, checked out some local parks, walked along the boardwalk and ran to the water to touch Lake Ontario one last time. The beach itself was surprisingly busy with volleyball players, kites, BBQs, joggers, walkers and cyclists. At 10 degrees and cloudy, we ARE Canadian! We selected a row of adorable Corktown houses that we will one day gentrify and occupy with other planning friends.
Next, we explored the Distillery District where we saw the crazy cube house. Lia was telling us all the facts behind it. She finished talking, looked at me staring at the house and quickly snapped 'What are you doing!? Let's go!' in a sharp, strict, motherly tone I've never heard from her. We enjoyed some free samples of beer and admired the juxtoposition of new construction with the original buildings. We walked through the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood and lamented over the loss of planning leglisation that so successfully afforded mixing market housing and social housing together in the same building. Around dinner time, I had to leave them to meet Dad, Arlene + Byron for dinner at Milestones and then I was back dowtown for beer with Archi-friends Choi, Kate and Tina. We had a great chat about Europe and all the places they suggest I visit.
Needless to say, I need a weekend to recover from this long weekend.
On Friday, Chris, Anna, Jeff, Audrey, Dawn and I went to Green Room for one last Hoorah. It was nice, fairly low-key and surprisinglingly packed despite the category 7 hurricane outside. According to Shannen Doherty, that's what happens when two category 5s collide. Man, we're funny. And Mom, you'll be excited to know that Dawn is now a writer for Canadian Idol!
For most of Saturday, Chris and I met up with Ronnie and Laurence to brainstorm, debate and argue rather loudly on the sales floor of Zara, what we believed would be a really thoughtful, special birthday / going away gift for Steve. We thought we nailed it. I hope we were right. As a result, I reluctantly ditched Lia and a BBQ at my thesis supervisor's house in The Beach. Later in the evening, the four of us plus Julio + Rob collectively decided it would be best to go out clubbing at our beloved Buddies. Naturally, it was an AMAZING time because so many other cool people were there including John, Trevor, El Salvador and Jeff. It was nice to see so many friends in one night. After much dancing upon stages, talking with strangers, a 'Minority Report' incident, obligatory street meat and alledged pickle disaster, I had a really good 3 am talk with Chris about the sources of all my stress right now. Well, he did most of the talking.
On Sunday, I spent some time hanging out with Gerg, the former roommate and we drank a bit on SKYLAB's balcony while we aborbed the BEST view of Toronto from a residential building. We chatted about all of the changes that have been made to the apartment: new lights, new light switches, a spice rack with spices no one has ever heard of, a lime green hallway, a bedroom swap and new furniture! The place looks fantastic and I really want to live here again!
On Monday, I definitely owed Lia some quality time so we had a PLANNERS breakfast with Laurence. We went to China Town for some Vietnamese food. In the spirit of new beginnings, I tried Bun and Pho for the first time. Laurence tried to kill Lia with some cream in her coffee [she's allergic to dairy]. Then again, Laurence always tries to kill people through allergic reactions [kidding.. kinda :) ]. Afterwards, we had an adventure suited for a Magistrate of the Environment... or a Waterloo undergrad! We went for a stroll to The Beach, checked out some local parks, walked along the boardwalk and ran to the water to touch Lake Ontario one last time. The beach itself was surprisingly busy with volleyball players, kites, BBQs, joggers, walkers and cyclists. At 10 degrees and cloudy, we ARE Canadian! We selected a row of adorable Corktown houses that we will one day gentrify and occupy with other planning friends.
Next, we explored the Distillery District where we saw the crazy cube house. Lia was telling us all the facts behind it. She finished talking, looked at me staring at the house and quickly snapped 'What are you doing!? Let's go!' in a sharp, strict, motherly tone I've never heard from her. We enjoyed some free samples of beer and admired the juxtoposition of new construction with the original buildings. We walked through the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood and lamented over the loss of planning leglisation that so successfully afforded mixing market housing and social housing together in the same building. Around dinner time, I had to leave them to meet Dad, Arlene + Byron for dinner at Milestones and then I was back dowtown for beer with Archi-friends Choi, Kate and Tina. We had a great chat about Europe and all the places they suggest I visit.
Needless to say, I need a weekend to recover from this long weekend.
posted by Douglas J. Stiles, BA Hons, MES! at 5/23/2006 12:07:00 a.m.
1 Comments:
Motherly tone? More like nagging-wife tone.
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