Survival

Ahhh, the madness is over. Still a little hard to believe, actually. This was the most brutal one yet. I feel like I've said that every time, but after 5 - maybe 6? - 80-100 hour weeks, I feel pretty confident it's true this time.

So now I'll have some time to get to know Toronto and hopefully some new people. But first, I'm really looking forward to my trip home to LA. I can't wait to see everyone (!!!), get some sun, and to be back in a city where I know exactly where to go for whatever I need. And then the weekend after I get back (easter), I'm going to Indy to spend the 3 day weekend with my parents. But I swear, I do intend to get to know Toronto....eventually...soon!

What did I do with my first day all to myself in a long while? Slept in - had a momentary freak out when I looked at the clock at 9am and thought I should be at work - but then went back to sleep. Cleaned up my apartment a little (still needs some work though), went to the gym, met up with Julio, Julia and Greig for a delish Tex-Mex lunch. How wonderful to talk to live people! Not at work! While drinking sangria and eating yummy food! And it was a gorgeous sunny day (still a little cold but the sun was great!) so we walked around a little bit after lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon running errands and picking up the odds and ends I'd been missing for the past month. It was great to just have an afternoon to walk around my own neighborhood. I still need to explore the 'hood some more, but I've decided I'm really happy with my choice of apartments. Even though it's smaller than I was hoping, the location is really excellent. And the fact that I was able to move right in without needing any major furniture or decorating...that proved to be way more essential these first two months than a little extra space. With my work schedule this past month, I would have still been sleeping on the floor and using a box as a table. It would have been pretty grim.

The kids at work have been having a lot of fun nights - which I hope will continue now that I've got nights I can actually go out. But so far I've missed go-karting, a night out at a superclub, an insane sounding night at a vodka bar, a concert (I had a ticket to see the Ting Tings but couldn't make it to the show), etc. But the good news is that these fun things all exist here and I will get to enjoy them all soon. =)

I don't have any recent pictures, but here are a couple from my plane ride from London to Toronto when I first moved over... It was a gorgeous clear day and the captain pointed out that we could see Greenland's gorgeous glaciers:

Time travel - Copenhagen

So, go back to Jan. 2, 2009. I went to Copenhagen for one last European trip before my UK departure. I went by myself, just for 2 days, and it was perfect. A quick trip to see this cool, small city in a part of Europe I had never explored.

Nothing too magical happened, but I would love to go back someday. It's an interesting mix of cobblestone streets and ultra modern design with stores selling the most amazing housewares and furniture I've ever seen. There was a freak snowstorm for about an hour one day. Then it rained most of the next. I was super impressed with all the Danish women who managed to look sleek and elegant while riding bikes in sub-zero temperatures. I also have no idea how they manage to wear high heeled boots on those cobblestone streets. I have much to learn from them. =)

Here's a little slideshow of some of the sights...

hi ho hi ho

So, I've been asked if I've found a bunch of great restaurants and cute spots in Toronto. Sadly no - not because Toronto doesn't have them but because I really don't get out of my office much, except to grab a sandwich or very very late at night, to go home.

The best meal I've had here so far was when my parents came up for the weekend and we went to a lovely dinner at Lucien, which was recommended by two of my friends who were randomly up in Toronto when I first moved. The food was absolutely amazing. Our waitress sucked. And I mean sucked in a condescending, when-you-ask-me-about-the-tasting-menu-you're-annoying-me kind of way that just didn't stop for the whole 2-3 dining experience. But as long as I never ever have to have her as my server again, I would definitely love to go back for a special occasion.

We also had some amazing fondue and a place called Biermarkt which also does a ton of imported beers and microbrews. I'd love to go back there - special fondue menu or not, just for a nice afternoon of beer-drinkin'. The funniest part about that afternoon was that when the waitress came to our table, she was all excited about a new beer they'd just added to their list. Kronenberg 1664. Which was as standard as Peroni in England. So it amused me but also made me pretty happy to know where I can now get a Kronenberg whenever I have a hankering.

Okay back to work. I will resurface eventually...like right around March 24th. And then I'll be in LA for a week and probably coming to Indy the following long weekend. And then, one day in April, I'll actually get around to exploring TO. =)

Warmth

It was 60 degrees today in Toronto! 60!

And don't I feel foolish with my giant winter coat and scarf.

Guess I'll start reading the weather report before I leave the house.
Yay for one day of spring!!!

New country, same slacker blogger

So it turns out, I've been living in Canada for a month now. Toronto, to be exact. The Queen West 'hood to be even more exact. I've settled into my apartment, already had a great visit from my parents who made the "easy" drive (9 hours each way!), and have worked at least 6 days a week since I got here. Some things don't change.

It's crazy cold here this week. It's weird - the weekend i arrived, there was a TON of snow on the ground but there was a warm patch so it melted like crazy my first two weeks here. Now there's no snow but it's anywhere from -10 to -18 during the day (celsius, mind you) and way colder with the winds. However, I bought a proper winter coat (so warm! so quilty!) and I'm adapting...going back to that thick skin I developed in my 4 years in NH. I can feel the blood thickening already.

Here are some pics of the new pad...
Living room:















Kitchen (a full kitchen! no more mini fridge and microwave/oven combo!):














Bedroom (it's tough to get an angle on but bigger than it looks):

















and bathroom:


















Not pictured - my ensuite washer and separate dryer (!) and all the awesome closet space. Also, a super cool patio which is where the doors in the living room lead to. What's crazy is that I'm pretty sure the paint color in the bedroom and bathroom is the EXACT same color as my living room back in LA. So that's probably why it felt like home instantly.

I'm subletting from the girl who owns it, who just moved in with her boyfriend. It came furnished (including all kitchenware and TV and DVD player!) which is super rare here in Toronto. There are only 5 condos on my floor - all 1 bedrooms. The rest of the units in the fairly large building are all townhouses. There aren't many building amenities but it does have a guest suite you can reserve, which was great for my parents' visit, since I'd just gotten all my boxes delivered the day they arrived. It's only $65 (canadian dollars, mind you) a night and it's on my same floor. But when most of you come to visit you can stay on the pullout sofa for freeeeeee. Or in my bed and i'll stay on the sofa. Whatevs.

I'm in a cool neighborhood with lots of funky spots to eat, drink and be merry. And it's an easy streetcar ride to work. A little crowded maybe, but an easy commute once I make it on.

Here are some pics from my parents' visit. They just came for the weekend and were a huge help getting everything set up and cart stuff around in the car. What a novelty - a car at my disposal!




























Since then, I got my hair chopped. Really really, unintentionally, chopped. I'm still getting used to it. But here's my new Toronto look.












Ok, that's all for now. I'm coming to LA March 28-April 4th so please get in touch if you'd like to have lunch, coffee, dinner, drinks, anything. Would love to see as many people as possible!

I'll try to come up with some funny stories about mounties, hockey or the word "eh" for my next post.

Oh and here's a pic of me and Julio (who also worked on Gnomeo in London) all bundled up on the streetcar.