08 Bonus: Tagged
I have finally tagged my entries on 3 for 365's sibling blog. 1 for 365 is where I post one new thing I've learned each day. Only one tag per post, so let me know what you think - it's a work in progress.
08 May 14 (AM): Fish
Taxi drivers are a huge inspiration to me in Toronto – bike neatly folded in the trunk at 4am.
1. ‘Sneaky Dee's – ah yes, sneaky disease!’
2. ‘The people go too soon from camel to Cadillac.’
3. ‘Your bicycle, young lady, looks like a fish.’
08 May 13: Alright
1. ‘Everything's gonna' be alright.’
2. ‘Everything's gonna' be alright.’
3. ‘Everything's gonna' be alright.’
Heard in no fewer than three songs today. This has got to be up there with the world's most popular musical refrains... but when I asked my colleague for more, ‘Don't give me brain tumours!’
08 May 12: Hum
1. Peeps: ‘* is the one airline where its employees are so sure about everything, especially when they are wrong.’
2. Peeps: ‘Was that your son who called, or your husband?’
3. No peeps: The soothing whirr of the bathroom fan and the hum of the DVD playing in my laptop on my lap.
08 May 11: Savages
Heard and seen on film. Another kind of learning.
1. ‘I don't want to play in your yard if you can't be good to me.’
2. ‘We're not in therapy right now, we're in real life.’
3. ‘I'm not betraying anyone.’ ‘Only yourself.’
08 May 11: Suggestive
Heard and seen on film. One kind of learning.
1. ‘The largest check-cashing chain in the US is funded by Wells Fargo, the 4th largest bank.’
2. ‘This year, more Americans will go bankrupt than will divorce, graduate from college or get cancer.’
3. ‘The #1 qualification for working at a bank is suggestive selling experience.’
08 Bonus: Maxed Out
‘Do you know who one of the most popular customers of credit card companies is right now? People who have been through bankruptcy. The reason ... is that we know two things about them. One is that they can't file for bankruptcy again. And the second is they have a ‘taste for credit’ ... they are willing to make minimum monthly payments forever. And that's where we make our money.’’
I just watched Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders. What a valuable film!
08 May 10: Pierogi
1. ‘Cleo [the cat] loves Chanel.’
2. ‘She keeps her professional pierogi table in the basement, right next to the meat grinder.’
3. ‘Don’t be an ant bully!’
08 May 9: Paths
1. On the street (in the city): ‘I just got a drive-by compliment!’
2. On her mind (in the pub): ‘I discovered my first grey hair. I've got to make an appointment to get that taken care of.’
3. On the radio (in the night): ‘Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on.’
08 May 8: FedEx
1. Made me smile: ‘Oh look, you dropped your smile today.’ That is one charming FedEx guy!
2. Euphemisms: ‘I have some quick business to dispose of in the porcelain department.’
3. At the 29th floor: ‘Must be your age.’ Oh look, it's that charming FedEx guy again!
Maybe my dentist needs to meet the FedEx guy.
08 May 7: Reward
1. ‘Bite. Hold. Grind.’ My dentist quickly fixed my (gasp!) cavity. Which I felt earned my sweet (drilled) tooth a chocolate reward.
2. ‘You've lost weight. You used to be like this.’ [Arms measure two feet of air.] Now there's a compliment. Shouldn't my dentist be looking at my teeth?
3. ‘New Kids on the Block are touring in September. It goes online Monday at 10 o’clock. Guess what she wants? She wants floor tickets.’
08 May 6: Date
2am text message: ‘Call me.’
1. ‘Hey, would you be my date on Thursday?’ (Flattery)
(‘Of course. Only if I don't have to make out with you.’)
2. ‘Of course not. Plus, you're not my type.’ (Relief)
(‘You’re not my type, either. Glad that's settled.’)
3. ‘Good! You're like my sister. I love you.’ (Affection)
(‘I love you, too. Go to sleep before we have phone sex.’)
08 May 5: Flow
1. Surprise, surprise! ‘I'm pregnant.’
2. ‘In the face of continual change, Taoism suggests we be as adaptable as water, which flows over and around rocks, bending its shape to flow on. If we can let go of the beliefs we are most fond of, then we can open to the new, to paradox and the absurd. This is creativity. This attitude becomes a way of life, even a spiritual path. We are able to let go of old models, and we become humble enough to start all over again.’
3. ‘If you're the rock, the water will wear you down.’
08 May 4: Mitochondria
Over drinks in good company:
1. ‘Not a talented bone, cell, mitochondria in her body!’
(‘Can I get you another round?’)
2. Appended to every sentence: ‘... but dreaming is free.’
(‘Can I get you another round?’)
3. ‘I can't compete with crazy.’
(‘Can I get you another round?’)
08 May 3: Helicopter
1. ‘If my business doesn't work out, my exit strategy is to move to Saskatoon.’
2. ‘It’s a phone!’ ‘It's a camera!’ ‘And (in a Swedish accent) it's a helicopter!’
3. ‘There ain't nothin' as clean as Hogan-cider.’
08 May 2: Soled
1. From Forgetting Sarah Marshall: ‘Just went from six o'clock to twelve o'clock.’
2. In the sparsely-filled theatre, laughter not from a crowd, but from individuals behind and all around me, making for an intimate matinee.
3. The gentle steps of flat, rubber-soled shoes walking along a carpeted corridor – the only other pair of feet left in the office.
08 May: Heard
‘If the eyes reveal the soul, the ears would seem not to reveal anything about us; they are the least expressive part of our face. Yet observe their shape, curiously complex, and you will see an extraordinary image of receptivity – the receptivity we often risk losing in our hurried, convulsive lives. The ear is the image of our openness to the world.’
Piero Ferrucci, The Power of Kindness
08 Bonus: Remembering
Captured in draft posts and tucked away between painful memories, the best of April will soon be yours to share with me. Thanks for your patience as I catch up. April is never made easier by the fact that Toronto doesn't ease into Spring – it gives birth to it. What a mighty long labour!
‘Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid of life than death.’ James F. Bymes
08 April 30: Pizza
The three most prominent and recognizable foods in any downtown Toronto food court:
1. Pizza
2. Burgers
3. Chinese
Tempting as I sit there eating my crunchy white salad.
08 April 29: Bubba
The Toronto Transit Commission is my never-ending source of inspiration.
1. The really big, soft-looking guy over here smells like Hubba Bubba.
2. In a sea of rush-hour commuters, someone smells like baby powder.
3. A woman over there smells like cherry gum, with a dash of Tabasco.
08 April 28: Laden
1. ‘I love to smell flowers in the dark,’ she said. ‘You get hold of their soul then.’ Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams
2. ‘The air came laden with the fragrance it caught upon its way, and the bees, upborne upon its scented breath, hummed forth their drowsy satisfaction as they floated by.’ Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop
3. ‘Don't you love heavy fragrances, faint with sweetness, ravishing juices of odor, heliotropes, violets, water-lilies,--powerful attars and extracts that snatch your soul off your lips?’ Harriet Prescott Spofford, The Amber Gods
08 April 27: Sanitizer
In a crowded auditorium:
1. light, pleasant perfume,
2. alcohol hand sanitizer,
3. freshly washed hair.
08 April 26: Elevator
1. Stepping on: the clean smell of post-housekeeping.
2. Stepping in: the clean smell of the polite young man.
3. Stepping off: the clean smell of the little old lady.
08 April 25: Glossy
1. Nature's salty tears in April rain.
2. Unstuck pages of a glossy magazine.
3. Leather seats in a cozy car interior.
08 April 24: Lavender
I asked my friend Rehan what her three favourite scents are. She didn't skip a beat:
1. lavender,
2. vanilla, and
3. pot pourri blends.
I never realized how popular and beneficial lavender is. (Even retailers and casinos circulate scents, including lavender, into their ventilation systems to enhance our moods.)
08 April 23: Twins
In the spirit of my 1 for 365 blog:
1. Women are born better smellers than men and remain better smellers over life.
2. Smell function falls off dramatically in men after their mid-50s, a decade earlier than in women.
3. Everyone has a unique smell, except for identical twins.
08 April 22: Vino II
1. Shiraz: black fruits and black pepper; more intriguingly, raspberries, spice, herbs, grilled meats, charcoal, smoke and tar. When aged, may develop rubbery aromas.
2. Sangiovese: slightly bitter, mouth-watering sour cherry and black cherry aromas, with spices, herbs and tobacco.
3. Nebbiolo: black cherries, liquorice, tar, hung game and chocolate.
08 April 21: Vino I
1. Cabernet Sauvignon: blackcurrants, cedar, old furniture and cabinets, coffee, tobacco, cigars, cigar boxes, violets, minerals, green pepper (especially if grapes are under-ripe), chocolate. Young wines start off intensely fruity; more complex aromas develop with age.
2. Merlot: spicy fruitcake, Christmas cake and chocolate; may also display blackcurrant, black cherry and plums. Less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon.
3. Pinot Noir: redcurrants, cranberries, strawberries, blackberries, chocolate (when young). Secondary aromas (that develop with age) include horsehair and animal fur, farmyard aromas, manure and compost.
08 April 20: Dirt
1. ‘I'm queen of my own compost heap, and I'm getting used to the smell.’ Ani Difranco
2. ‘I prefer the smell of sweat to the smell of the Christmas tree.’ Coach Bölöni, Football Portugal
3. ‘In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.’ Margaret Atwood
08 April 19: Speed
What is the speed of smell? Readers of the Sydney Morning Herald weigh in:
1. The speed of smell is the time taken to identify an olfactory stimulus as a scent, smell or stench. The delicious smell of summer rain may not be apparent for minutes after a cloudburst. The amorous scent of one's lover may prompt a response in seconds. The stench of robust flatulence in a crowded elevator approaches lightning speed. There are other variables. When something stinks to high heaven the speed is literally out of this world. When one smells a rat the speed depends on the quality of incriminating evidence. And to smell the roses may take months – or forever. Rod Benson, West Pennant Hills
2. As with all else, that would depend on how long it took to travel from point A to point B. Accompanied, however, by loud explosions – as it frequently is – we can confidently assume it breaks the sound barrier. Ron Elphick, Buff Point
3. Who nose! Frederick Hewison, Banora Point
08 April 18: Cigars
Joy on my Mercedes: the smell of Spring!
1. Tuned-up foldie: slick bike oil.
2. Dinner plate: warm brie cheese.
3. Parking lot: sweet, sweet cigars.
08 April 16: History
In the rooms of a great university:
1. dark wood trimmings,
3. heavy, thick curtains,
2. padded furniture, AND
4. oversized oil paintings.
Halls infused with history!
08 Bonus: Joe
Today is April 15, 2008. Not to worry, I have posts waiting in the wings . . . they're coming. I'm still on the lookout for Goods. Toronto smells interesting this time of year.
Forgive the delay. My just-deceased grandmother's husband, my sweet (and sweet-smelling) Uncle Joe, my lifelong Grandpa, died in a terrible car crash on Saturday. Two weeks hadn't even passed.
Joe and I regularly shared (i) laundry detergent, (ii) red wine and (iii) stories from the Economist. He lived downstairs, my neighbour and friend. My favourite recent post about Joe is this March 2, 2008 entry.
More happy memories to come . . .
08 April 15: Bright
1. Chemically artificial, bright pink, sexy nail salon.
2. Still-hot, fabric softener-enhanced blue bedsheets.
3. Pre-packaged, pre-sliced, bright yellow pineapple.
08 April 14: Leaves
I usually can't stand people eating on public transit. Today I enjoyed it.
1. Perpendicular to me: kid eating Harvey's.
2. Behind me: sweet and sour-y spring rolls.
3. Beside me: large spinach leaves sticking out of a woman's grey plastic grocery bag, freshening up our shared space.
08 April 13: Buried
1. Squirt, squeak: Windex on Sunday morning windows.
2. Eyes closed, deep breath: beans hot off the coffee grinder.
3. Better than men: nose buried in the hugs of little boys.
08 April 12: Meatloaf
1. At the pub: happy, greasy lunch
2. At Fran's: meatloaf and gravy
3. At the movies: popcorn palace!
08 April 11: Invigorating
After opening the salon doors to a pleasurable assault on my senses, and after settling down into my chair, I am offered essential oils and a massage.
Which oil would I like,
1. beautifying,
2. relaxing, or
3. invigorating?
08 April 10: Unoffensive
1. Fresh strawberry licorice on my fingertips.
2. Buttered microwave popcorn on my fingertips.
3. Light soap, unoffensive, on my fingertips.
08 April 9: Commuting
1. Vanilla in the taxi cab.
2. Caramel in the train station.
3. Flora in the automobile.
08 April 8: Chai
On Queen Street West this sunny afternoon,
1. hot dogs,
2. coffee, and
3. chai tea.
Bonus: Lush trailing me down the sidewalk, as always.
08 Bonus: Elected!
Abraham Lincoln's road to the White House:
Failed business in 1831. Defeated for legislature in 1832. Second business failure in 1833. Suffered nervous breakdown in 1836. Defeated for speaker in 1838. Defeated for elector in 1840. Defeated for Congress in 1843. Defeated for Congress in 1848. Defeated for Senate in 1855. Defeated for vice president in 1856. Defeated for Senate in 1858. Elected President of the United States in 1860!
08 April 7: Floss
1. Entering Hallway: freshly showered, moist, post-soccer friend.
2. Settling in Living Room: fruity wine in colourful Czech glasses.
3. Escaping from WC, floating through halls: hint 'o mint floss.
08 April 6: Močiutė
It is Day Three of my exotic virus and I am still smell-less, missing what I am told is beautiful weather in Toronto. Here is my last offer memorial for the weekend. This one's for grandma.
The aromas of family gatherings at močiutė's extra-warm condo:
1. Juicy roast beef and Kugelis, a true Lithuanian potato delicacy!
2. Homemade cherry cheesecake, always, to complete every meal.
3. Running through grandma's walk-in closets, throwing myself into her vintage dresses, embracing their very specific air of retro fabulousness: not quite pleasing, but not quite uninviting.
08 April 5: Memories
Some smells bring us back years. In order of significance, I hereby list three men's scents I wish never near my nose again. They are memories, magnified:
3. Kiehl's The Ultimate Man After Shave Balm
2. Polo by Ralph Lauren Eau de Toilette Cologne
1. Calvin Klein Eternity for Men After Shave
08 April 4: Nut
My sister brought me an exotic virus from her exotic travels. I can faintly smell fabric softener on my clean sweatshirt, but my sense of smell is otherwise suspended.
In lieu of, I offer you memories of my favourite toiletries:
1. Body Shop Classic Vanilla Oil (now substituted with a new kind of vanilla, but how appropriate that it be a memory),
2. Body Shop Cocoa Butter Body Butter (or is it Brazil Nut, or Coconut? I only know for sure by its sweet smell),
3. Lancôme Trésor Body Lotion (which I used to work into my curly hair), still one of the top fragrances sold in Canada.
08 April 3: Wool
1. Inhale: hot, milky English Breakfast tea in the piercing sunshine.
2. Inhale: hair, cheeks, little noses and necks of my little nephews.
3. Inhale: warm wool blanket in a dark room for an afternoon nap.
08 April 2: Cheek
1. Lingering: the essence of a friend who comforted me.
2. Immediate: an abundance of beautiful fresh flowers.
3. Heartbreaking (but nothing ever smelled so good): the soft cheek of the man leaving me wanting.
08 Bonus: Literary+
08 April 1: Pressed
1. Wafting aromas freed onto the streets from the Eastern European bakeries of Bloor West Village in Toronto.
2. Breathing deep the warmth of publishing's pressed papers in the bookstore [the one in the restored Runnymede theatre].
3. Catching a hint of floral from the rows of miniature plastic trays of colourful spring flowers with my little Lukas.
08 April: Smell
I fell asleep to the scent of licorice the other night. And got the Idea: smell, the most underrated of senses!
My sensitive nose and I will bring you a bouquet-filled April. I thought of waiting a month, as May and April have distinctly different smells... but I want to seek out the good ones in the mustier, wetter of the two.
08 Bonus: Močiutė
My grandmother has passed away. Some of you have read about her here - she's made the blog. Nothing I write could ever be a full enough tribute to her life . . . I hope she knows how much I will miss her.
1. The woman who visited and travelled Eastern Europe with me.
2. The woman who shared family secrets and spoke the plain truth.
3. The woman whose bony, fragile body I always fully embraced.
Bonus Fashion Statement: That crazy red hat of hers! Beautiful . . .
08 March 31: Colours
Transit ad teamintraining.ca read to me as:
1. tea mint raining DOT ca,
2. at St. Patrick subway [the mintiest green station].
What else? Whilst playing Ring the Elephant, my nephews fought over differently-coloured toss rings. Both demonstrated a vehement hate-on for green. I showed them my green eyes and asked how they would feel if I didn't like brown, the colour of theirs. In the end:
3. ‘Auntie, I love all colours.’
08 March 30: Latin
1. Latin American music in produce section.
2. Fresh strawberry banana smoothies to go.
3. Blast of cold, wintry March sunshine!
08 March 29: Go!
Green means Go!
1. After your lifelong dreams.
2. Before you leave the house.
3. Towards the best windowed corner table in Little Italy, to see and be seen on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
08 Three Things: Pretty
Liking and enjoying:
1. Old: my enduring Ikea wardrobe.
2. New: my pretty green eyeglasses.
3. Always: Carlsberg's classic label.
08 March 28: Charlie
My co-workers kidnapped me into watching videos. Funny or Die is funnyman Will Ferrell's project. So I got my dose of laughter!
1. The Landlord
2. Charlie Bit Me (1.0)
3. Charlie Bit Me (2.0)
08 March 27: Jelly
3. Sound. The Art of Noise, courtesy of Limewire.
2. Taste. Green jelly beans, tastier than expected.
1. Sight. The elderly lady at the streetcar stop looking up at me from behind her wide, round glasses, magnifying her generous green eyes.
08 March 26: Swag
1. The Gmail Chat experience.
2. The Free Swag experience.
3. The Ativan Experience.
08 Three Things: Love
More Leftover Love from February.
‘Love measures our stature: the more we love, the bigger we are. There is no smaller package in all the world than that of a man all wrapped up in himself.’ William Sloane Coffin, Jr.
‘Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.’ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
‘Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great.’ Roger de Bussy-Rabutin
08 Bonus: Be
‘The man who sticks to his plan will become what he used to want to be.’ – James Richardson, quoted in The Washington Post
08 March 25: Unscrewing
1. Adjustment: better bridge fit on my newly customized eyewear.
2. Refreshment: hissing pop! whilst unscrewing Perrier bottlecap.
3. Enjoyment: a marijuana roach in the stairwell at work - someone likes being green on the job! [Not me, by the way.]
08 March 24: Commitment
This week's Eye Weekly features Toronto's top young chefs. One of the top four was even an R&B artist in his previous life. Eating in multicultural Toronto is very exciting and inspiring!
Who are these hotties?
1. Ted Corrado
2. Scot Woods
3. Roger Mooking
and, Bonus:
4. Eran Marom, whose words inspired me:
‘‘As someone who believes in God, I can say everything is from God – everything I've passed just to get to this point and start this,’ he says. He compares the challenge of cooking kosher to the formal constraints of a poet – the restrictions force you into a type of creativity you might otherwise not approach. At some fundraisers with non-kosher chefs, he's found them fascinated with his cuisine and how his techniques can inspire them. ‘You can't play around – butter? You don't have it. It's not here... There are rules, but it's a system, and I like it. With any achievement, there needs to be a commitment.’’
08 March 23: Crisp
1. Deep pink buds blooming for my grandmother.
2. Homemade vegetable soup with my parents.
3. Crisp whole red pepper on the top fridge shelf.
08 March 22: Progress
1. More Green than White on the Ground.
2. More Sunshine than Cloud in the Sky.
3. More Progress than Procrastination.
08 March 21: Good
It was a Good Friday!
1. Out with the Old: Tossed one mattress.
2. In with the New: Adopted another one.
3. In with the Renewal: Cleaned, polished, sprayed and waterproofed every single pair of shoes I own. Even the runners.
Who makes an afternoon of shoe-shining? Someone who is procrastinating! Or, as Paul said: someone who is setting herself up for all the good work that is about to get done. Clean slate, free mind, blank canvas . . .
08 March 20: Gratification
1. Serious time in front of my screen . . .
2. pale green, yet still generating ideas . . .
3. meeting those deadlines. Delayed . . .
gratification!
08 March 19: Upgrading
Computer upgrading owned the day.
1. New RAM
2. New system
3. New software
Newer isn't always better, but this was good.
08 March 18: RAM
1. Educated, inquisitive, excited! 8am breakfast seminar.
2. Inspired, motivated, thrilled! 10am party - I mean, press conference. Toronto is a city of capital-C creativity!
3. Grateful, flattered, humbled! Incredible RAM deal.
RAM is a very pretty colour of green... and, oh! Neil helped me pick new glasses today. This was not intentional: they are a beautiful, subtle green!
08 March 17: Heels
1. Green heels: unintentional, truly.
2. Salad, Thai chicken with Michael.
3. A very jolly St. Patrick's Day!
08 March 16: Treasure
1. I woke up to Lukas's fingers in my nose, digging for treasure.
2. Another Duck. Little butt up, head in the green Humber River.
3. New operating system! New backup! New software beginnings.
08 March 15: Organic
1. Duck. Starbucks Organic Vegan Brownie
2. Duck. Organic Low-Fat Vanilla Soy Milk
3. Goose. One Helluva Good Dip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All out-shined by Jason's green homebrew.
08 Bonus: Hollywood (III)
15 Green Actors listed here. I certainly agree with the top three:
1. Leonardo DiCaprio
2. Cameron Diaz
3. Robert Redford
08 March 14: Lush
1. Lush: A little less grey than it was yesterday.
2. Unripe: J shared green avocadoes and mangos.
3. Spanking: Bring on the Booti-Luscious Booties.
BONUS: Green eyeshadow.
08 March 13: Outside
1. It's getting warmer outside.
2. It's getting warmer outside.
3. It's getting warmer outside.
08 March 11: Words
Creativity!
1. Chatting: nice to hear from a creative boy.
2. Writing: delving into grey matter for words.
3. Corresponding: into the precious wee hours.
08 Bonus: Earth
Things I read in the Metro on the subway:
1. ‘Cellphone companies are experimenting with ‘green’ cell towers powered by wind turbines or solar panels. A cell tower requires eight times as much power as a household.’
2. ‘Set photocopiers to print double-sided. It takes 10 times as much energy to make a piece of paper than it takes to copy onto it, according to Godo Stoyke’s The Carbon Buster’s Home Energy Handbook.
3. ‘Nelly Furtado has been named the first Canadian Earth Hour Ambassador.’
08 March 10: Hemp
1. Body Shop Hemp Lip Protector (the best one for winter lips)
2. Milk Chocolate with Whole Almonds (German, green wrapping)
3. Someone else's new beginning: ‘Yay! I drove him nuts & he kicked me out.’ [I couldn't help but read this over a girl's shoulder as she was texting. Sure enough: she had a duffle bag, and a spring in her step.]
08 March 9: Zing
1. Add a little Zing: Colourizing photos.
2. Add a lot of Effect: Fresh photo filters.
3. Add a few Comments: Album replies.
08 March 8: Airy
1. Clean! White powder falling...
2. Bright! The first hockey arena.
3. Airy! The second hockey arena.
I've discovered that these breezy arenas are what give Canadians their winter glow - or would that be thanks to the cognac in my pocket?
08 Bonus: Anna
Leftover Love from February.
I love Anna and Anna loves
1. Jake Gyllenhaal's photo: ‘I could lick that’
2. touching me to show how her date felt her up
3. the smell of napalm in the morning . . .
08 March 5: Bowl
1. On her way out, a colleague: ‘Would you like the rest of my fruit bowl?’ Yes, and thank you!
2. On my way upstairs: ‘Help yourselves to the fresh fruit in the kitchen.’ Yes, and thank you!
3. On my way home: carrying green grapes, melons and produce, in my dark green Gap t-shirt.
08 March 4: Beneath
1. Dreaming: of sunny LA, lined with palm trees.
2. Waking: rare treat, P's soft-spoken voicemail.
3. Imagining: wet green grass beneath the snow.
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