concert count

#6: John Legend (27-Nov-05) - Massey Hall

amazing. that pretty much sums it up. john legend is so smooth, and seeing him live was spectacular. there were a few microphone problems at the beginning, but once they changed his mike, it was smooth sailing. his backup singers were unnecessary and sometimes too loud, but otherwise, it was a great show.

for the ladies....he wore a tan blazer, white button down shirt, and jeans. such a great look. then he took the blazer off, which was good because the white shirt/jean combination is always nice.

i had to leave my work christmas party early to catch this concert. i had to skip out on the dessert, which is too bad because it's usually the best part. i'll gladly skip any dessert to see john legend though.

keeping with the music theme - i got tickets to the coldplay concert in march. yes, this will be the third time i will have seen them live, but can you ever get enough of coldplay? i know i can't.

as per requested

even though i've been in toronto for 6 months now, i probably don't know as much of the city as someone who lives here should. but in my defence, i'm here for work and not to be a tourist. that being said, i've done some touristy things when i have had visitors.

i went to the royal ontario museum (ROM) with adam because he wanted to check out this flying dinosaurs or dinosaurs with feathers exhibit to fulfill the science nerd inside of him. it was an interesting exhibit, and i probably wouldn't have understood half of it without adam there. overall, i was a little disappointed in the ROM. it's definitely loads better than the provincial museum of alberta, but i had just spent 5 weeks in europe visiting amazing museums, so the ROM is a little anti-climatic in comparison. but it wouldn't be fair to compare either.

took a daytrip to niagara falls with sandy. i knew it would already be a good day when i go to pick up the rental car and the guy gives me a free upgrade and i got to choose the car! i chose the jeep cherokee because that has been my favourite car since forever. the falls itself are quite spectacular, but i never imagined the city would be so commercialized and las vegas-like (in a very miniature version). there were fireworks the night we went, so we stayed to check those out, and it was cool.



went to the CN tower with my parents and grandma. there's tighter security there than at most airports. they make everyone stand in this body scanner thing that takes your picture and i assume, scans your body for guns and/or explosives. it was funny though because you have to stand in this scanner thing, similar to those you walk through in airports, but more enclosed. then a voice says "starting air jets" and there are two sets of air jets on either side of you that shoot air at you, starting from the top, all the way down to your feet. i had to hold in my laughter because it was so unexpected, and i didn't want the security guard to get mad at me.


i didn't think i would be impressed by the CN tower because it's just a tall structure, but seeing the lake and the city together from above is neat. i was the only one who walked on the glass floor, and i'm afraid of heights! then we proceeded to spend more time in the gift shop buying souvenirs than we did up the tower.

and then i took a weekend trip to montreal with natalia, sim, and anand. that trip was tonnes of fun because it fulfilled all my requirements....shopping, eating, and drinking. we did all three. good food, even better company.

i think that's about all the touristy things i've done since moving to toronto. i still want to check out the hockey hall of fame, the toronto zoo, and the ontario science centre. i need more visitors, then i'll have a better excuse to go.

asia or alberta

one of the funniest things that has happened to me since coming to toronto happened while i was waiting for a GO train with my friend, who is also in the training program with me, chinese, and from calgary. all this information is relevant to the story.

so we were waiting on the train platform waiting for the train to take us back into toronto when this guy asked us if the next train stops in clarkson. neither of us knew since we're both new to the city, so i looked on the train schedule i had. the train did stop at clarkson, and the guy thanked us and started telling us how he has driven for over 20 years and this is the first time he has taken the train because his car is in the shop. i told him that both of us used to drive everywhere back home too, but not since moving to toronto. we lived in the oil-loving province of alberta, of course we drove. then the guy's like "are you two from asia?" and it was so hard not to start laughing when i replied, "no, alberta!"

on another note, looks like the snow might be here to stay. and today is the first day we turned on the heat in our apartment. our windows are really crappy and let in cold air like nobody's business. i don't feel it so much in my room because my window is on the other side of the room, but both my roommates either can't sleep because of the sound of the wind, or find it hard to do work in her room because it's too cold. i guess i'm lucky, i sleep like a baby.

meet millington and the moose

they're best friends.

no i didn't name a stuffed animal. he already came with a name. these are some of the charity plush toys we're selling during christmas. there's also a bear, a dog, a monkey, and a lion in the small size. so do your part for society, buy one, two, or all of these toys and support some of the charities that benefit from the sale. or just buy them because they're so darn cute.

(this is also the first time i've made my bed, just to take this picture)

my profile pic

just in case anyone was wondering, my profile picture is one i took on my trip this summer. it's one of my favourite pictures. it was taken in berlin, and if i remember correctly, i think it was just on the edge of a town square. i took a 8 hr walking tour of berlin based on a recommendation from another traveller, and it was excellent. our guide was showing us how every tree in berlin is tagged and numbered, and somewhere among these trees is tree #1. that's just a random tidbit she told us, she actually did know alot about the history of the city. i saw lots and learned even more about berlin. the company is called brewer's berlin tours. if you are going to berlin, check these guys out. it's the best 12 euros you'll spend.

go oil...umm...leafs go

i'm an oilers fan to the core, i cheer against the leafs out of spite for snobby torontoians. so yesterday, we had two leafs players come to the store to sign these hockey books we're selling. people were lining up pretty early for it because it was bryan mccabe and darcy tucker coming. a perk of being in management is that we got to take pictures and get stuff signed by them in our office after they did the book signing in the store. i'm still a hockey fan in general, so here's a picture of me with tucker. i didn't get one with mccabe because he was doing an interview with a radio station. i kept my bay vest on for shits and giggles, i think it makes the picture funnier.

o canada

i feel incredibly patriotic right now. i just went to a media launch for the new olympic clothing, since i work for the company (no, it's not roots). they showed the new uniforms and clothes, had some olympic athletes in attendance, and showed the new commercials that will be playing on tv soon. for anyone who knows me, i'm a pretty patriotic person to begin with, but going to this launch made me so proud to be canadian, so proud be to working for a company who is providing the clothing for the next 4 olympic games.

on a side note, anyone remember watching mark heese and john childs win bronze in beach volleyball in sydney? well, heese was one of the athletes there.

so when you see the clothes in the stores (should be by the end of this week, but that might be wishful thinking in terms of execution), buy something. support the store, support the athletes, feel proud to be canadian.

on another side note, who got a little tipsy on the wine at a work function? yeah, that would be me.

concert count

the best thing about living in toronto.....all the concerts that come through here.

Here's a recount of the shows i've been to since june.

#1: Coldplay (02-aug-05) - ACC
great show, nothing can beat coldplay in my eyes. wasn't as up close as i was when i saw them at the shaw conference centre, but the ACC isn't too shabby. it's no coliseum, skyreach centre, rexall place, or whatever other name it'll become.

#2: Foo Fighters (13-aug-05) - Molson Ampitheatre
dave grohl is too funny. although i didn't quite appreciate it when he was trying to get the toronto crowd going by saying it was the best show they played, and then went on to go through the other canadian dates and said they weren't as good. i'm still an edmontonian at heart.

#3: Jack Johnson (17-sep-05) - Molson Ampitheatre
ahhhhh jack johnson. finally made it to a show and it was all worth it. i love him.

#4: Jason Mraz (04-oct-05) - Kool Haus
his CDs don't do him justice, his live show is amazing! so much energy and i love it when musicians talk and interact with the audience. company was great, but i can't believe i let you guys talk me out of buying a t-shirt. oh well, i'll get it the next time, and i don't doubt there will be a next time.

#5: Franz Ferdinand (18-oct-05) - Ricoh Coliseum
even though i'm not a big fan of franz, they put on a good show. their music puts me in such a good mood. and i love the brits.

next up on deck......john legend.

jumping on the bandwagon

ok, so it seems like everyone and their dogs have a blog these days (check out my sister's blog), so i figure it's about time i start one too. it's probably better than sending out mass emails about my adventures in toronto. so visit once, visit often, sit back and i hope you enjoy!