Bonus: Baby Crawling Competition
Click here to view Baby's First Race (1:05) from Vilnius, Lithuania (wait five seconds for video to begin).
May 30: Fresh
1. The smell of fresh lilacs, everywhere.
2. Timeslot for fresh pedicure and manicure.
3. Bro met me and brought fresh new music.
I can't get enough of Rihanna's ‘Umbrella’...
Bonus: Kris Holm
Kris Holm from Victoria, Canada is the Tony Hawk of unicycling. Check out his amazing photo gallery. I'll be thinking of him when the going gets tough on my two wheels.
May 29: Hot Date
I locked up my laptop in my cabinet at work after hours. Then I lost the key.
I do believe that something good comes out of everything:
1. A hot date with my colleagues, who got down on their hands and knees to help me look for my runaway key. My dad even coached me, over the phone, how to pick a lock. Thanks, James Bond! I was unsuccessful, but it was a kind-hearted effort.
2. A hot date with a caramel sundae, following my fit of frustration.
3. A hot date with my newly-purchased phone. I couldn't avoid it any longer. I now own a dusty pink mobile whose keys play colourful xylophone music notes. It's really very beautiful and soothing.
Bonus: Special Thanks to Special K
- A typo on last night's letter (bad - no, very bad).
- But my friend re-faxed it for me this morning (good).
- That mistake will probably cost me a job (bad).
- But there is always hope (good).
May 28: Manners
1. A promising phone call from my dear partner.
2. A conversation with someone I don't usually chat with.
3. Just when I was feeling invisible, the youth on the elevator wished me a good night. Not too thuggish - beautiful manners!
May 27: Folding
I recently replaced my road bike with a folding bike. I love it!
1. Ready, set, go! I beat the traffic to the station.
2. Under the table. I took my bike to a meeting.
3. Splish, Splash! Drenched in a downpour, what could I do? I embraced the wet look and rode through every puddle.
I want to give her a name. She is dark grey and a little tech, but very elegant. Maybe Mercedes?
May 26: Allies
Woven throughout a sad and frustrating day of misogynistic encounters, women were my allies:
1. An ally in D at her house.
2. An ally in N at the bike shop.
3. An ally +1 in J and J at a cafe.
I have to add that I'll never forget drinking beer with chocolate cake - classy!
Bonus: Spam
‘I believe that you are my soul mate and I am even more confident that you are kind, bright, well-behaved person with wonderful manners and polite sense of humor. Indeed I am a wise lady and I will not stand living with a fool or a cry-baby. I know that I am worth thousands of women; my intelligence is far more advanced than it is of an average lady my age; my sexuality is million times stronger than it is of a young, inexperienced girls. I am worth a fortune and I am happy for you, because from now on you can write to me at * and we will learn each other better. You will never regret that you've finally met me!’
May 25: Dracula
I received some enthusiastic, albeit unusual, compliments this afternoon at the hospital lab:
1. ‘What beautiful veins you have!’
2. ‘No one has said this before? They are so borrring!’
3. ‘You have made my Dracula Day!’
May 24: About Town
1. Mr. Seattle - Ned - came to town by way of Vancouver.
2. More make-up education came to town by way of Sean.
3. Exercise came to town by way of a subway shutdown.
Should I say that my friend Ned is one excellent dude, a cute blond (if that's your type) and available? He might not want me to (being the modest type), but I will anyway! 100% good people. Between you and me, Ladies, he's a catch!
May 23: (B) Pierogi
After dreaming of caramel sundaes...
1. Warm: borsch and pierogis with a friend.
2. Familiar: bumping into someone at a meeting.
3. Polite: after tossing my container into the bin, the bin said, ‘Thank you.’
May 23: (A) Sandwich
1. Being my own midnight party of three – me, myself and I.
2. Buying the last fresh pizza slice for half price – didn’t hurt to ask.
3. Covering my skin in a mask made of eggs, honey and garlic (!!!) – remarkable thing, smelling like an old sandwich.
May 22: Opportunities
1. The opportunity to stick my head out of a bus window, hair flying, tongue hanging and tail wagging.
2. The opportunity to pluck from a bed of wheatgrass one of many chocolate-covered mini-cheesecake discs blooming on the ends of lollipop sticks.
3. The opportunity to attend a TV network party for a new show premiere.
May 21: Garlic Tea
It was a long weekend in Canada, so Monday felt like the second coming of Sunday. All hail Queen Victoria!
Do you ever get caught on long weekends without enough groceries? She did. And since she didn't want to eat from a gas station, she scoured her kitchen:
1. Buttered Pasta! Garlicky and filling! Sorta' ghetto fabulous.
2. If life gives you garlic, make Garlic Tea! The excitement alone was worth it. She really thought she was onto something... admittedly, it was gross. But with a little honey, it might just be the perfect drink!
3. The rest of her was fuelled by sheer determination.
Lest she feel like a bore, she ventured out, past the fireworks, for ice cream in the tiny tub, overpriced and over-caloric. After all, birthdays are for celebrating! And like her grandmother used to say, ‘There are no calories on Sundays.’
Bonus: Dr. Phil
I found a book full of Dr. Phil-isms. Yee and I chose three we liked:
1. ‘You have always been the architect of your own experience.’
2. ‘Forgiveness is about taking power from those who have hurt you.’
3. ‘When we blame our situation on past events, we allow our history to control and dictate our present and future.’
May 20: Sunlight
1. Izzy waxed poetic about laundry, which got my mojo going!
2. My neighbour topped up my last cap of detergent. With that, 5.5 caps turned into six loads of laundry.
3. The Rag Bag was born. Shabby straps do not a pyjama make.
May 19: Love Lettuce
1. Un-Shopping: The saleslady takes back the sandals after 60 days and issues a store credit, even though she doesn't have to. All I buy today is Love Lettuce. I can't resist a face mask with a name like that.
2. Liquid Lunch: Lukas and I find a nice sunny/shady spot for swilling down pints of cold, thirst-quenching East Coast beer. I get a little lightheaded and decide to go test-ride folding bikes in the park. Breezy!
3. Couch-Chesterfield-Sofa: Whatever you call it, I call it comfortable. I settle in to relax and finish reading a delightful book called Save Karyn. Then I settle into bed and dream inspiring dreams.
May 18: S-t-r-e-t-c-h
1. Paul bought me lunch at a secret spot not far from The Milky Way. Here is a man whose artwork contains idea clouds. It's very moving.
2. I bought some of Paul's lovely language earrings, which you can see here. Some for me, some for others.
3. Oops. Couldn't stick those babies into my closed-up piercings. I decided to stop by Yonge Street Tattoos. I needed some piercing education and I needed it on a Friday night! I've shopped around and believe me, this parlour (love that word) is TOPS. (I wouldn't want you to walk into any parlour less divine.) In the end, I didn't even need to get my holes re-pierced, just stretched. No big healing process!
May 17: Funkton
Today was so Boo. Blah. Blech.
Hmmm ... now for the good!
1. Construction worker directs hideous monkey-like noises towards me as I walk by. Mating calls? Stomach ache? I purse my lips together to hide my smile. Of course I'm flattered. There is a place for me in the animal kingdom!
2. Lukas is working a lot in Moncton (pronounced ‘munk-ton’) these days. If you're there, he is really tall and sexy and looks like Jesus. Today he called Moncton ‘Funkton’ (in a good way). He always says stuff like that. It makes me laugh.
3. I'm on with Paul for a ch-ch-chilllll afternoon tomorrow. Just talking to him lifted my spirits. Why? I don't know, it's magic!
Well, I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go. Maybe I'll go to Wendy's for a midnight Frosty. You know, find some teenagers in the parking lot and paradise by the dashboard light. Ha ha ha ha! Just kidding.
May 16: 5000
1. My blog hit counter surpassed 5000. Thanks for reading me!
2. Matt stopped me at Union Station. I am so grateful when former classmates wake me from my daydreams in public spaces.
3. A quote I love from a book I finished reading:
‘Every household needs one piece of furniture in really bad taste.’
Jeannette's mom, in The Glass Castle by Jeanneatte Walls.
May 15: Waive
Today went from glam to glum and back to glam again (thanks in part to men named Dan and Russell). Repeat.
1. I saw this couple, probably on a date. The woman was all over this guy, but kept insisting, ‘I'm so old-fashioned!’ This would normally make me roll my eyes, but today it made me laugh out loud (even if it was at her).
2. I couldn't find my ATM card again. But this hottie little biscotti named Jeremy at the juice bar didn't mind at all. With the wave of a hand, he waived the $6 for my smoothie. Oooh, he will get good karma back for that one.
3. I got on the testosterone train. The only girl wore a t-shirt that read ‘No one cares about your blog.’ When I got home, I opened an email from another Dan. ‘J-Unit, you're the best!’ And all was well in my world again.
May 14: Dictionary
1. Wow! The Dictionary, like I've never heard it before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhbyLnCi2rQ,
2. which reminded me to visit the wonderful Word Imperfect...
3. ...and to locate poet Christian Bök's Eunoia, in which every word in English containing one of the vowels exclusively is written into its corresponding chapter A, E, I, O or U. Each chapter has its own distinct feel, e.g., ‘Goons who shoot folks knock down doors, storm control rooms. Bronx cops do crowd control. Corps of shock-troops cordon off two blocks of shops to look for kooks who concoct knock-off bombs.’ Brilliant.
The book is not long; there is even a Flash version. Here is the official link: http://www.chbooks.com/archives/online_books/eunoia/
May 13: Mamma Mia!
It was a musical Mother's Day of tough mamas and sexy women, sprinkled with honourable men.
1. No, no no! My bro and I listened to Amy Winehouse, Sarah Slean, Tori Amos... then he helped me get the AC3 audio component for Quicktime.
2. So, yo, ho! 1980s Queen's, NY women rapping, ‘None of your business!’ This week's wake-up music.
Last, but not least, the most musical - and toughest and sexiest - of them all:
3. Mamma Mia! After lunch, she called my dad ‘hot’. (Her colleague had asked, ‘who's that handsome man?’ Mama proudly replied, ‘my husband!’) This was good for him. Who would daddies be without mommies?
May 12: Breakfast
To my delight - and to the horror of breakfast food everywhere - I found these three videos (filmed with friends a few years ago). They instantly made my Top Three. Ladies and gentlemen, I offer you Breakfast, the most important meal of the day!
May 11: Fragrant
1. Senses: Cheese fondue and white chocolate fondue, among other delectables - the dinner I never ate. Inhaling fresh mint from R's Mojitos being prepared in the kitchen. Inhaling a few other things, too. A delightfully fragrant houseparty.
2. Mush Mush: The taxi driver accepted what cash I had, even though I was $1.50 short and had no way to access an ATM. He was so cool about it when he could have given me a hard time.
3. Sparkle: An ice-cold bottle of Perrier sat in the fridge waiting for me to crack it open and guzzle its bubbles.
Bonus: Monsters
Sorting through business cards collected at art shows, I noticed a pattern:
1. Soft Uglies (which you might recognize from this photo)
2. Monster Factory
3. Little Fiends
May 10: Sweet Offers
1. My grandmother sweetly offered me a tissue - to be gently placed onto the keys of my laptop?
2. I thought I was going to be handed work; instead, I was offered sweet chocolate cake.
3. Four years ago, I acquired a lovely bathing suit that somehow fell apart. Today, the company stood behind their product and offered me any replacement from their boutique, to $260. Sweet!
May 9: La-La-La
I am waiting at a bus stop. My Wendy's Frosty sends me into raptures... I chuckle, imagining my friend Wendy wearing her ‘Wendy's Hot and Juicy’ button in highschool. I spot a dude in a parked white car unleashing his harness of a seatbelt (go, Fast and Furious) and suspiciously eye him as he proceeds to stroll, self-consciously, towards the parked Jeep. I wait for him to open the passenger door and perform the illicit transaction that is happening only in my mind. He does no such thing and returns to his harness. I snap back to reality – the bus is pulling out. It has come and gone, just like my Frosty.
Sometime prior to my long walk:
3. My dear colleague chose a $1 (not $1.25) snack at the vending machine so I could have her last quarter for my own $1 snack.
2. My dear brother served me pizza and music at his place.
1. My dear appetite grew strong thanks to my Jay-Z happy dance.
May 8: Cookies
1. Joyful email from Madrid. The Spanish know how to look at life.
2. Productive and creative discussion with my friend in Athens.
3. Open-hearted-yet-mysterious offers of cookies everywhere I went. Oatmeal, raisin, chocolate chip, combinations of all three...
And a Pretty Good Bonus:
4. Karyn wrote a nice post about 3for365 on Pretty in the City.
May 7: Pensive
Today I was witness to a woman, poor thing, the moment she received news of her husband's sudden death. There was nothing good about it. It was so powerful, it erased the day's memories.
If anything good came of it, it made me pensive. Thoughts of my family. Here are some highlights. (To my sibs, special post for you three forthcoming...)
The men:
1. My dad taught me the value of a straight line. Years in a darkroom with a papercutter, or metal rulers + X-Acto knives, have rendered me scissorless for life. This was of utmost importance when I eventually ended up in art school.
2. My uncle always gave me beautiful gifts wrapped in ugly packaging. The meaning was not lost on me. Then he'd say (and still does), ‘You got it, Pontiac.’ A North American car thing?
3. After stopping at a Ukrainian bakery on Sundays after church to get rye bread (always sliced), my grandfather and I would sit on a bench in the park overlooking the Humber River, watching subway trains coming and going at Old Mill station far below.
The women:
3. Močiutė (grandmother) and Aldona would often take two of us on weekends. In between Lithuanian dictations, housecleaning and classic films on TV, repeated reminders: ‘Don't read good books! Read the best books.’
2. Aldona (my great aunt) always brought us Time magazines. A very matter-of-fact lady, she and Močiutė had no time for our snivelling. ‘One day you'll have a reason to shed tears.’
1. I better save some for Mother's Day. But what is it Mothers always say? Yup, ‘Life's not fair.’
May 6: Izzy and Frames and Pictures
1. I love art and I have found the best shop in Toronto for framing. Frames and Pictures. I haven't seen a wider selection anywhere.
2. I am dizzy for Izzy, who took time out of her day to help me bring back my newly, gorgeously (and affordably) framed pieces.
3. I clean when I am angry; I clean even better when I am angrier. So a lot of good came out of my anger late in the day.
May 5: Twilight
1. 530am twilight. Birds chirping. 6am sunrise. My first in I-can't-remember-how-long.
2. 4pm sunshine. Sitting on a park bench, reading a book and watching a father and son play soccer.
3. 830pm sunset. 9pm twilight. Quietly observing the end of the day, just as in the beginning.
May 4: Sensibility
1. ‘I saw you in my dreams.’ Friendly strangers at an art opening struck up conversations, which were good for a laugh. (Oh my God, people really say those things?)
2. Poor salesman: Jason couldn't sell my left shoe for $5 at the pub. The Cinderella in me was relieved, indeed.
3. Sense and sensibility: Difficult moments made easier by someone mature, followed by a drive home through the empty streets.
Bonus: Meow
‘‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ ‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the [Chestershire] Cat.’ - Lewis Carroll
‘The day I died was the day I started to live. In my old life, I longed for someone to see what was special in me ... But what I really needed was for me to see it.’ - Catwoman
‘Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.’ - Cat in the Hat
May 3: Spring
1. Meow! Spring is in the blogosphere: A New Jersey cat named Lulu posted a comment on my blog this morning.
2. Ka-Ching! Spring is in the breezy corridors of the financial district, in the rustling leaves of the avenues and parks, and in the warm sun hugging a city emerged from another winter.
3. Cheers! Spring is in patios burst wide open. It's in bicycle wheels and wide open car windows. It's in jackets tossed aside and in fresh pedicures saying hello to the world.
Spring is in the air!
May 2: Neighbours
1. On campus, I bumped into some old faces, met some new ones and received an invite to an alumni party.
2. My long-awaited print job - hallelujah! - had a nice colour and finish. My scanning was largely successful.
3. I shared a cab with a woman going in my direction. Then a neighour let me in at 2am (I was keyless again).
So many good things happened, I forgot that the soles of my feet were burning in my cheap heels, that the cab driver was irate with us or that I seem to be getting early-onset alzheimer's, always losing my keys and passcards.
May 1: Fresh
1. Expecting to make green tea this morning, I opened the cupboard to find a fresh box of Orange Pekoe.
2. After some 1-800 calling card fumbling, my friend in LA solved the problem online and successfully reached me.
3. On my insistent knocking, the new dean at my alma mater opened the door to the design office after hours.
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