Just go an email from the organizers of the Sporting Life 10k, and my official time this year was: 1:07:44. Not bad. Not bad at all considering the fact that Mythilli was born almost 3 months to the day (via c-section), I only started “training” about two weeks ago, I decided to do a session of Insanity on Friday and run 5 k the day before the race. That’s just how I roll.
I finished my first knitting project of the season this past Sunday, which is super exciting. I still have to finish the cross-stitch camera I started a month or two ago. I also want to finish a quilt project during the holidays. (As an aside: Fabricland is having their pre-holiday sale. Go get creative)
I love the winter months, not only because it snows, but because I can get down to doing more crafty stuff than I normally do. The only thing I wish is that I had my sewing machine downtown at our place. Though, it’s always nice to sew in Scarborough.. I’m less distracted and tend to actually finish projects I start since I have no excuse to put them off.
Layla turned one yesterday and I made a video for her with the help of a few people. I’ll trim it down to minus the personal messages and put it online later today. Here is the video.
I went to the Running Room in the financial district on the weekend to pick out a new pair of runners. To my dismay I ended up with a pair of Nikes. Ew. I know. But after trying on about 12 shoes, I thought the Nike ones would be the best ones. I’ve worn them for the last two times that I’ve worked out and I’m still not convinced that any shoes will alleviate the pain I feel in my ankles when I’ve run more than 15 minutes. The sales girl at the Running Room said I could try the shoes (indoors) for a month and if I don’t like them I can go and switch them. See, that’s great, except I hate returning anything. If I buy something and if I never wear it ever, I won’t go and return it. Anyways, hopefully my ankles will stop hurting? we’ll see.
Bet you can’t say you know a published poet!
“Karate, fatherhood, travel, and Italian-Canadian identity are the cornerstones of this sinewy premiere collection by Toronto poet Domenico Capilongo.”
His book launch is on June 3rd from 6:30-7:30 at the Nicholas Hoare Book Store (45 Front Street East). Be There.
Shit, did I forget to pay my tuition? Am I running low on printing funds? What a strange email to get in my UT account. It turns out that UT decided to give me, and probably everyone else in the program, a parting gift in hard cold cash. That should cover my plane ticket quite nicely.
Thanks UT! You can keep the cash flow open even after I’ve graduated. I won’t tell if you don’t!
I’m looking at tickets out of this country for April 15th till April 29th. If you have any suggestions, let me know. :D
I wanted three things for my birthday:
1. snow
2. wrist warmers
3. birthday wishes on my birthday from my mom
I got all three things. What else could a girl want?
I have been avoiding doing any work on the workshop class by shopping. Sometimes all you need to make you feel better is a day with your closest friends. I can’t believe how therapeutic it is to just hang out with my karate people..
Aside from rare occasions I really enjoy taking the TTC. And the truth is, like it or not, the TTC will be my only ride until I can afford a car and circumstances require me to have one. I especially like taking the TTC to far places like etobicoke (!). I had to go to Humber College today to watch my kids (they’re not really my kids, not even in the usual sense that I use that term… I don’t even teach these kids, but a long time ago they use to be in the kids class and I use to teach them) compete in the Karate Ontario tournament. I got there in about an hour and 15 minutes, which is long, but the fact that I could get to Humber College on a Sunday without a car was good enough for me! I love the TTC! :D
Even though I’ve moved out of my old neighbourhood in North York, I still have lots of connections to the place and make it out there at least a few times a week. Today, Ali and I went to our old elementary school. Lots has changed about the school and lots of stuff are still the same. After talking with the secretarial staff for a good while we headed out to the school yard to see my old Grade 6 teacher. Out of all the teachers and profs that have taught me in the last 19 years, he is probably one of my favourites. He looks exactly as I remember him! We chatted for a while about the old days and what we’d been up to and what my Kingslake friends were up to now. He told me to come by to his class next time I’m around and talk to his kids. He was saying that some of the kids aren’t very motivated, so it’d be nice to have someone come and talk about how they were once at Kingslake and have “made it”. It kind of made me sad to hear that, but I can understand why. I suspect not much has changed about the demographics of the kids at kingslake from when I was a student there. Most of the kids are immigrants with immigrant parents with English as a second language, they live in the surrounding high rise apartments and don’t have too many resources. I mean I know I’m not really inspirational, and I’m just an average person, but I’m actually thinking seriously of going in and just hanging out with the kids one day. Thinking back to when I was in grade 6, I use to love having older (but not necessarily my teacher’s age) helpers in the classroom. I use to think they were so cool and out of this world!
If I was rich and famous I’d make donations to two places and Kingslake is on top of that list.
I spent 45 minutes in a Federal building doing questionable* things and no one asked me why.
(I was standing around observing people and taking notes for my CIP and I couldn’t have stuck out more if I tried. )
The only thing Mark and I could ever agree on was anything Japan related. Other than that no matter what the topic we’d always be arguing over something. That made for an entertaining world issues class no doubt. Anyhow, Mark" has been in Japan for a few months now and promises he’ll update his blog more often.
The Persian calendar, is observation-based, rather than rule-based, beginning each year on the vernal equinox as precisely determined by astronomical observations from Tehran (or the 52.5°E meridian) and Kabul. This makes it more accurate than Gregorian Calendar, but harder to work out which years are leap years. (*more accurate than the Gregorian Calendar.. I knew it! Persians are the greatest! :P ) This process makes it a bit tricky trying to translate a Persian birthday into Georgian calendar date. Both my brother and I have been affected by misinterpretation of dates. For almost 10 years, I celebrated my birthday on January 23. It wasn’t until highschool and all our documents were retranslated that the officials noticed that my birthday is actually the 22nd of January. One day here or there doesn’t make much of a difference, but with my brother they had the wrong year for a long time. I’m not sure who translated our documents for us, but I’m almost certain it was some appointed official! Argh. Anyhow, if you are wondering here are the Persian months:
The current Persian Calendar year is 1386.
Ingredients
5 Tablespoons butter
2 onions, coarsely chopped
5 Tablespoons curry powder
Chicken stock
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
6 zucchini, sliced
More chicken stock, heavy or light cream.
Preparation
– Sauté onions with the butter until soft. Add the curry powder and cook low for about 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and cover with chicken stock. Cook until tender then add the zucchini, adding more stock to cover.
- Cook the zucchini until soft. Put the soup through a strainer, reserving the liquid.
- Put the solids into a blender or processor and puree. Return the puree to the soup pot, adding the reserved liquid.
- Add more stock, heavy cream or light cream to bring it to the right consistency.
In a perfect world I would be doing my Current Issues Paper (CIP) on Middle-Eastern neighborhood morphology, and in particular neighborhoods in Tehran. Since we live in a not-so-perfect world, and I can’t pick up shop and move back Home for the summer, I will probably do something more closer to home, in Toronto; suggestions are always welcomed.
Here is a little excerpt from one of my readings that got me thinking about doing something about Middle-East architecture/neighbourhoods:
“One.. example is the traditional Middle-Eastern courtyard…. Formed by the enclosure of clustered mud-brick houses turned inward, the courtyard is said to keep out the threatening desert and to bring people in touch with the sky, which reflects God… In addition, the courtyard provides a place for informal interpersonal contact and formal social celebration. Finally, the courtyard projects an unselfconscious aesthetic, providing a sense of serenity and shelter.. All in all, the courtyard joins people sympathetically with their everyday world and helps that world support a way of life which is satisfying and complete…” (Seamon, Phenomenology and Environment-Behaviour Research)
My mom was telling me that in Tehran if you are on the north side of the street, your courtyard is located in the front, and if you are on the south side your courtyard is in the back. If my memory serves me right, I remember having a courtyard in the front of our house. I think I also remember Ali learning how to ride a bicycle in the courtyard.. or maybe it was the street in front of our place….
Another interesting architecture tidbit about Tehran: Borje Azadi (also known as Shahyad Tower) is a 50m tower, clad entirely in cut marble. I find it ironic that we have a tower in Iran called “freedom/liberty tower”. Freedom? What Freedom?
How come no one ever mentions Kwanza?
I don‘t feel like blogging about anything since I‘m not officially a grad yet, and I don‘t imagine I‘ll be one for a couple of days, as this project is still not handed in.
The holidays have been fun so far. The problem however is that the winter term begins early this year, which means I should get my self in gear and get working on stuff! I‘m expected back in the Loo land one last time on the 5th I think and I have nothing to show at the meeting. Uh-oh.
Ram got me some super cool Planning related books that I can‘t wait to get started on. I‘m so excited I can read for fun finally! YAY.
here is a short to do list:
1. write statement of intent
2. work on portfolio (shit)
3. email people for reference letters
4. write letter for dream job and/or accept other job offer
5. fill out application forms
6. hand in application forms by the 23rd