Fun and Games Dept

Earl and I, along with our friends Tim and Steve, headed over to St. Lawrence Market today in Toronto to do a little shopping among the natives. Tim and Steve introduced us to Peameal Bacon Sandwiches. W00t they are TASTY! Yummy, yummy, yummy.

St. Lawrence Market is much like Reading Terminal in Philadelphia in that it’s a huge building with various vendors (mostly food) selling their wares. People wander about, it’s got a “barely clean” feel to it, basically it’s controlled chaos. I love it.

After the peameal bacon sandwiches, we headed to a kitchen gadget place that sold the exact cookie cutters I’ve been looking for! These cookie cutters have a handle and serrated/ridged blade that my grandmother used for sugar cookies. I intend to do the same. I’ve held back on making sugar cookies until I could find these cookie cutters and now I’m good to go.

After St. Lawrence Market we headed over to the Distillery District and browsed through the galleries in these renovated old mills and factories. It was a typically chilly Toronto day in December, so we warmed up at a coffee shop with a little pastry, I had organic hot chocolate.

Then it was onto the Eaton Centre for some shopping. We were going to buy the last of our Christmas gifts but I ended up buying some clothes for myself. A couple of heavy, long sleeved shirts from the Timberland store. Just my style. I’ll model them for the blog during the week.

After we did our bit at the Eaton Centre, we headed back to the states. As we driving along the QEW in the bumper to bumper traffic, two cars in front of us came to a screeching halt, causing the car in between us to naturally stop as well. The driver of the car that initially stopped then got out of his car and walked to the car in front of us and started beating the driver! He opened the door, grabbed the guy, and started punching him! I guess he didn’t appreciate the tailgating. So then he slammed the door and started back to his car, where the ‘victim’ then bumped into the car in front of him! The guy came back and started opening the door again, but this time it was apparently locked. By then we were able to get the hell out of there. I must admit that was the worst case of road rage I had ever seen.

After we got back to the states (and breezed through customs, I made add), we headed to a local pub for supper – I had the traditional Buffalo Beef on Weck that was out of this world. Now we’re resting up a bit before heading to Bear Night here in Downtown Buffalo.

I love weekends like this.

Earl and I are spending the night in Toronto with our friends Tim and Steve. We just got back from dinner in Chinatown. I have no idea what I had for dinner. I looked for familiar ingredients and pointed at the menu. When the server appeared to ask if we enjoyed our meal I rubbed my stomach, smacked my lips and said “yummy” in a very loud voice.

Of course I’m kidding about that. It is true that I have no idea what I ate though. It was quite tasty for what it’s worth.

If you’re up to the minute with my blog entries, you probably saw some cell phones pictures on here for a little while. I took a look at them after checking in the hotel and found that the quality absolutely sucked so I deleted them. Photo quality is important to me. Apparently I’ve dropped my cell phone too many times and screwed up the built in camera. Oh well. Good thing I brought the real camera along!

Tonight we’re going to enjoy a little bit of the nightlife here in Toronto. It’s been a very long time since we’ve been up here and it’s a welcomed change of pace.

One of the things that I really enjoy about Toronto is the particular dialect of English spoken up here. It sounds so refined. So distinguished. A number of years ago I did some diction work to improve my speaking voice (and de-emphasize my nasal Central New York accent) on the radio and I used a couple of Canadian personalities as examples to mimic. That practice kicks into high gear whenever we’re up here.

I’m looking forward to going out tonight. It should be a good time. Steve and Tim are always fun to play around with.

There is something so invigorating of knowing a three-day weekend lies ahead. Today is my “Friday” as I have taken tomorrow as a vacation day. Tomorrow I’m having my grandparents’ piano moved into its new home in our front room.

My excitement is a little bittersweet, though. I’m really pumped about having a piano in the house again since it’s been over two years since Earl and I have had a piano. I’m anxious to start plunking out tunes. I might even take piano lessons again, because after all, I don’t have enough going on in my life.

But I’m a little sad because it’s my grandparents’ piano. When I hear or see this piano, I’ll remember the happy times I had as a kid listening to my grandmother play or trying to figure out tunes on my own. This piano predates the house its currently in, which was built in the mid 1950s. It hasn’t really moved since being put in its spot nearly 50 years ago. It’s a family heirloom that I’m going to treasure forever.

I’m sure that after the movers leave and I play the piano tomorrow I’ll have tears in my eyes. But that’s o.k. There’ll be a song in my heart.

When I’m bored and find myself aimlessly wandering the internet, I often stop over to The Internet Archive and browse through some of the old short films from the 40s and 50s.

One particular short film I enjoy is titled “Young Man’s Fancy”. This film is about young Judy, who is just smitten with a friend her brother has brought home from college. She’s trying to get his attention so they can go to the dance together.

Now, you would think the title refers to Judy as the young man’s “fancy”. Nope. The twist of this film is that it’s really an infomercial for electric appliances! No specific brand names are mentioned, but mother and daughter discuss the virtues of having an electric washer and dryer and all electric kitchen, and Alex, the object of Judy’s affection, has a most peculiar hobby: “engineering and time study”. A geek before his time! I love it!

I love watching this little episodic movie for a couple of reasons. I snicker when it’s mentioned that Alex is a “really woman hater”(?!?) and he and Judy’s brother go upstairs to take a shower together. (There’s a scene where Alex is shaving and the brother is taking a shower, in the same bathroom).

The mother in the film reminds me of my paternal grandmother in her homemaking skills; “wash day”, ironing the sheets, making a hearty lunch, etc.

What I like most is the innocence in this film. It has no basis in reality but rather takes place in a utopian, innocent world where time moved slower, people dressed up for dinner (I’m lucky to have pants on when I’m at the supper table) and the most technologically advanced piece of equipment in the house was the television.

I think there’s subliminal messages in the film though. I have the urge to redo the kitchen in an early 50s motif. Complete with an all-electric laundry.

Christmas shopping complete. Almost.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

With our original plans to go to Pittsburgh this weekend thwarted by Mother Nature, Earl and I decided to keep it local and do our Christmas shopping in Syracuse today. So off we went to the behemoth of a shopping experience, Carousel Center. This mall is going to become the largest mall in the United States one of these days, when the plans for DestiNY USA are completed. As it stands now, it’s still pretty damn big.

We navigated from store to store like the old pros that we are, shopping list in hand and burn marks on our palms from too many swipes of the debit card. It’s a cash Christmas this year, as we refuse to go into debt to spread joy to our loved ones. If you’re gonna play, you gotta pay. That’s what I always say. (If you believe that, I have a oceanfront property in Peoria, Ill. to sell you.)

One of the things I always enjoy about Syracuse is the pride in the SU sports teams (Go Orange! Go ‘Cuse!) with t-shirts and hats and everything on everyone everywhere you go. I never had the opportunity to go to college at Syracuse University, but I still bust with pride when I see the orange and blue apparel, posters and other team spirit stuff and I enjoy every opportunity we have to see a game at the Carrier Dome.

Anyways, Earl and I got most of the Christmas shopping done. I now know what I’m buying him this year (all to be ordered online tomorrow). It’s nice to get it all under control a little early in the season!

Today has been a day about changing plans. It started when I decided to take my lunch to work today. Being Friday, the cupboards are starting to get a little bare, so it was peanut butter and strawberry jam on wheat bread with a snack pack of Pringles as accompaniment. Earl called me at work around 11:00 and said “let’s do lunch at noon!”. Not wanting to waste food, I decided to eat my lunch at 11:00 and then joined him at noon at the local cafeteria-type place for a big plate of spanish rice. So I had lunch before lunch. Small wonder I’m gaining weight again. Oh well.

During lunch (the second one), we noticed the weather was taking a turn for the worse in the way of some pretty good lake effect snow squalls. This was a problem because we were planning on doing our annual Christmas shopping trip this weekend. This year’s destination was Pittsburgh. We were going to leave right after work and get as far as Erie, Pa. We’d spend the night and then get up and complete the trip tomorrow to do some shopping. Right now we’d be about Buffalo. But instead we’re at home, snug in our home as the snow falls and the wind whips about. So much for Pittsburgh. If the weather clears up a bit tomorrow, we’ll hop in the Jeep and drive away from the great lakes, maybe towards Albany, and do our Christmas shopping there.

Faced with an evening ahead of us now, we decided to go to the movies and see “Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire”. Honestly, I don’t know what the fuss is all about. Quite frankly I personally found this to be the weakest of the Harry Potter movies. I found the plot trudged along at an acceptable pace, but the magic seemed to be missing from the movie. I thought the whole movie was way too dark; the plot, the story, the magic and the cinematography. It wasn’t a waste of money by any means, but I would rush out and see it a second time.

So now I’m catching up on my blog reading and looking forward to calling it a night soon. It’s a definite change from the Pittsburgh-bound road trip, but nothing disappointing. We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Earl and I celebrated my first night of freedom (no on-call until the week of Christmas save for a couple of few hours nights as a favor) by going to see “Rent” at the local cinema.

Wow.

We saw the show on Broadway a number of years ago. In fact, it was a birthday present for Earl. I thought I had purchased tickets to a Saturday night show. Wrong. I had purchased tickets to a Saturday matinee show. And we realized this at 8:30 a.m. that morning. 2:00 curtain. Not showered, not packed, not ready, four hour drive, just to get to New York, barring any traffic whatsoever. We jumped into the car, and literally flew down to New York with enough time to get checked into the hotel, shower and walk to the theatre. The show was absolutely magnificant, with many of the cast members that are in the movie. We both found the Broadway absolutely amazing.

Tonight, we found the movie equally amazing. The theatre had about 30 people in it, not bad for a Monday night in this neck of the woods, and everything was absolutely silent during the entire film. Except for the unmistakable sounds of tears from various audience members. Including Earl and I. I think I teared up at every musical number.

Seeing “Rent” on the big screen brought a whole new dimension to the show. Is it as good as the Broadway show? Absolutely. And thankfully, it’s just as good but in a whole, different way. The stage production has an intimate feel to it. The set is sparse, allowing you to focus on the characters. The movie feels expansive, as if it’s taken in a chunk of New York in 1989* in a big ‘ol bear hug, yet the intimacy with the characters is not lost.

We both highly recommend “Rent”.

* The geek in me noticed one of the smallest details hinting to the fact that this version of “Rent” was set in 1989. The vehicles on the street had the typical NYSDMV registration and inspection stickers on the driver’s side of the windshield. The registration stickers were true to 1989, using the old style color coded stickers with dot-matrix printed “large” numbers denoting the month of expiration. I’m probably the only one in the audience that noticed that!

Earl and I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from Philadelphia. We were sure to pick up two copies of this week’s TV Guide. Not because we want to know what’s on, but because we need our “3D” glasses that are enclosed in the magazine for tomorrow night’s “Medium in 3D!”.

And while I’m typing this entry, I’m watching the remake of “The Poseidon Adventure”. It’s just not the same without Shelley Winters.

Earl and I are spending the weekend in Philly visit Earl’s family. It’s been a while since we’ve been down here and it’s good to see everyone and catch up on the family news. Plus there’s a rumour that there might be a trip to Atlantic City tonight, which I think is a great idea since I’m feeling the luck.

We’re staying with Rick and Helen this weekend which is always a good time. It’s nice to be able to sit in their living room with my PowerBook and surf the internet. The fun part is that they don’t have a high speed connection so I’m apparently borrowing a neighbor’s wireless connection. Netstumbling is always a good time.

Rick and Helen have a cat named Jones who needs to learn the rule when Uncle J.P. is using the computer. “Thou shall not nudge the PowerBook.” I think he smells his cousin Tom or something.

Earl and I spent the weekend in Buffalo with our friends Tim and Steve. The fun included Buffalo Bears night at Buddies II, which is always a good time hanging out with the great group of guys in the club. It was the variety show night with singing and videos and all sorts of stuff. I didn’t put one of my transporter videos into the show though. Maybe next year. Nevertheless it’s good to be with like minded people.

We always eat well when we’re in Buffalo. Last night we went to “Founding Fathers” for dinner and then to “Cole’s” for brunch today. Excellent meals at both places, both are highly recommended.The buildings in Buffalo are so cool. They’re so comfy in their late 19th and early 20th century feel. It seems like the old buildings around here are all getting ripped down. There’s something to be said for these old buildings and their atmosphere and history.

Now its time to get some sleep.