Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Toronto Aint no Manhattan...Manhattan aint no Toronto

Seriously.  All the grocery stores here close in the middle of the afternoon on New years' Eve!!!!  What's that about?

A lot of banks aren't even open on weekends, and even weekday hours are shoddy.

Banks charge you to see the face of the tellar here.  I'm not kidding.

Only two pharmacies are open all night.

I haven't been able to find the 24hr post office.

Add 50% of the price to account for tax in everything you pay for.  Again.  Not quite a joke.

Everyone starts work at 9am or 10am. 

The subway is overpriced.  I pay more than I did in NYC.

Torontonians take Christmas more seriously than Thanksgiving.  Shouldn't it be the other way round?

Zellers smells like TJmax.

I have to travel very far to find edible food.

It snows every day beginning in September.  Ok...maybe a slight exagerration.

Cell phone plans ridiculous.  You get half the minutes for twice the cost.  

Toronto aint no Manhattan...

Manhattan aint no Toronto...

In Toronto...

I cook every day.

I feel safe.

I am part of a caring community of people.

I have learned to meditate.

I am at home in Toronto.  

I am growing every day.

Manhattan will always be my second choice of vacation.  After Paris, that is.

Happy New Year everyone!!!  

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Twittering away?

I've been a Twitteree since June.

I remember to log on once a month or so.  Lately maybe once a week.   I remember back when I lived in good ole Africa.  We had no TV at my house most of the time I was growing up.  I know almost nothing of jingles and 90210 and Twin Peaks.  I barely listend to the radio and when I did it was to Alanis Morrisette or some symphony orchestra.  I read a lot!  I loved to read.  I would lock myself in the study to just spend hours reading.  I never liked the classics.  Mostly cutesy stuff like Anne of Green Gables and Enid Blyton.  Sometimes romance novels and I'd only read the steamy parts of the Mills and Boon romance.  I was always stimulated.  I studied a lot until I was 16.  I don't recall ever being bored.  I remember I spent 4.5 hours walking one day just to walk to and from a friend's house to give her a birthday present.  I loved going to the movies and it was such a treat...

Now.  Facebook, Twitter, Google and my present self employed status and lack of discipline are uncool.  UNCOOL.

2009 will be different my friends.  I will devote more time to blogger and hotmail and gmail.  I will discard my twitter and facebook time.  Hello blogger.

However I am greatful for Tynan's blog.  

How often do you feel passion?

It's 4am. I've been up for a while.

My roommate just knocked on my door because she has a medical emergency. Lately it seems she confides in me about her medical issues. I feel so honored because I love healing and helping.

So I'm in my PJ's and smell like ----- because of blablabla also my breath is unpleasant coz I've had a super duper lazy day today. Did not brush teeth yet. ewww. So with my very limited knowledge and the help of webmd, she's now off to take a taxi to one of the only 24 hour pharmacies in Toronto. And she has my number if she needs me.

It's quite exciting. I think this is probably the second time I've felt any kind of productive emotion today. Something really wonderful happened today and I was very happy. Then the responsibility dawned upon me and the joy went to the background.

I had a very productive day. But the tasks I took on have exciting long term results but offer no satisfaction for today.

I'm going to take a shower now at 4am. I feel rather icky.

I feel so bla. I love the stability and goodness I have here in TO. BUT I miss the NYC adrenaline rushes and 24 hour everything. My life here is so effin decent. I want brand new clothes and to be 600% fitter than I am now. Tall order.

This is more of a whiney blog entry.

I'm going to be up for the next 19 hours.

Right this moment I feel mediocre. UNCOOL.

I want to take violin lessons. I get bored so easily and my mbira lessons are cool but too far away. I will reassess this thought in a few months. Maybe I can find a violin teacher who lives very close to me.

Fuck mediocre. Since when did I become mediocre. Why are my standards so high? Why do I get bored so easily?

I think back to when I was working. I used to stay up just reading sometimes then I'd get sad because I had to stop reading in order to go to work. Now that I'm not working - it's not like you find me immersed in a book everyday!!

I find that if I choose to I can focus really intensely on a goal, but if something happens to break my focus, that's the end of that goal. I'm good at goals that have tangible destination. Like moving to NYC. Or moving to Toronto. Going home. Completing triathlon.

Maybe I should seek out adventures that have me traveling around Canada.

I am now embarking on some intense goals for the next two weeks. Among which is..."finish writing a book". After which I may call upon one of you readers to be my editor. Then there's the e-book project I must complete and convert format.

I'm tired. bye bye. I'm hungry :( cooking at this hour could be fun...eggsssssssssssss....breadddddddd....chickennn saussaaaaaaggee...delish delish delish.


I am craving attention. I am also very angry.  Watch out world.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Homeland Dreams...

Note.  this post is not structured.  just rambling rambling irregularly.

Soooo strange...

ok.  Maybe this is too much information.  But wtf.  A while back I made a decision that when I die I would like to be buried in Toronto.

Ok.  That is too much information.  I have a million more years to go though so no worries.

So.  everytime I have a dream that's set in Zim, I wake up feeling so weird.  Like where is this place???  I mean considering I haven't lived there in 8.5 years, it's amazing how my subconscious recalls it so vividly.

Toight I had a dream...

We were living at our house in Highlands.  Huge house, many acres of yard and a well, pool and lots of corn in the back yard.  In the dream, the house and yard looked exactly the way it did when I was in 3rd Grade. 

So we had this maid Tracy.  In the dream she had a boyfriend who happened to live in the servants' quarters of a nearby house.  

(growing up we were middle class and we had maids and gardeners) (now almost everyone is poor because of blablabla)

(given all the terrible ways that the colonizers treated us.  how could we then go on to treat other people of our own race just as badly by taking on the same classism that had been directed towards us.  how could us, black people, have maids who we paid very little and who we confined to living in these tiny really gross shacks)....ok. disclaimer.  in my family the maid shared a room with yours truly and was treated almost like family.  i effin hated sharing my room.  but maybe that was more humane...

Ok. back to the dream.  

In the dream, the maid went off on an errand to buy bread or something from the grocery store.  Instead she ran off to steal some loving time with her boyfriend the gardener.  since she was taking forever to return and the task was timely, my sister and I went to go get her.  We found her.  So on the way back to the house - we had to run quickly through a field of dried corn.  The maid kept saying how we had to run faster coz the corn spirits had been angered and were gonna kill us.  And in the dream I taunted back saying "Corn spirits don't exist.  Fuck them!".  My sister was appalled to hear such language and cautioned me abour respecting the earth or something....then the corn spirints got angrier but luckily we made it back to the house in time.

I dunno.  I just feel weird.  Right this second I can recall every single detail about the house in Highlands.  We only lived there for 4 years, but all of a sudden today 18 years later, everything is vividly awake in my memory...

the kitchen had bright green walls...There were two mulberry trees in the yard...i remember my mom making mulberry jam and my dresses being stained with the juice...the well in the garden was really deep and dirty and ancient but we kids found it so exciting that we had an actual well in the yard.  my neighbors had a lychee tree and sometimes they lychees fell into our own garden.  my parents had two cars - a blue nissan pick up truck and a white nissan datsun that my mom drove to work.  my mom was a nurse at the main city hospital.  my sister hadn't been born yet.  my eldest brother hated everyone and one day tried to kill the other brother.  The curtains in my room where purple and flowery.  I used to have these out of body experiences.  I was in 3rd grade.  i would wake up with this feeling that I had been flying around my room all night and I was convinced it was the case.  my 3rd grade teacher Mrs Harnden used to read Roald Dahl to us.  I remember listening to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  I was a very cute child.  I was still alright.  I had very neat writing.  One day when dad was supposed to pick me up from school, he was 3 hours late and it was dark.  Everyone had left. and so I decided to walk home.  We lived a 15 minute walk from the school but my parents never let me walk.  Anyway, so I'm walking along and then dad finally shows up as I'm on my way and I got yelled at.  Like super duper yelled at.  I cried.  My cute little 3rd grade self.  I thought I was being sensible by walking home and here I get yelled at for walking home alone.  Effin parents.  I also remember going to Greenwood park.  It's this really awesome theme park kind of - with ferris wheels etc.  I remember going boating with my classmates and I was wearing this lacy green dress (i did wear dresses) and my belt got lost.  Dad was late to pick me up after that trip as well.  That's when I stopped trusting my parents.  You can't be late if you tell the child you'll be there at 5pm.  I mean...don't parents have to be perfect or something...

I used to have this really awesome jacket.  It had snapper buttons and was a mixture of all kinds of cute graphics and colors like yellow and pink.  My mother is a super duper seamstress and she made it for me.  I wore it to almost all my civies days (the days when you didn't have to wear uniform) in primary school.  

All my life I slept with the light on.  Until very recently I started to turn the light off.  Right this second I want to sleep but my body and mind are just wide awake.  my head hurts prolly because it wants to be asleep too...my room is 150 degreen hot.  i'm convinced that maybe i'm sleeping in a sauna in some sleexy seedy gay bar.  i just turned on my lamp.  now i'll try to sleep...blogging while i sleep isn't helping.  i don't usually fall asleep like this.  always a first.  not working....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

dunno why these things are on my mind.  must sleeppppppp for a few more hours.  just needed to get it out on paper.  or screen.

Super Start Strong Sunday!!!

Well...now it's Monday.

Sunday was amazing.  Mostly because it was the last Sunday of 2009 and to me, such things matter.  Dates and ceremonies.

In the past year I would say that so many miracles and blessings happened.  I can confidently say the following:

1.  I know for sure what I want to do with my life and I'm getting there every day.  It's a lifelong journey and I love it.  It's not work - it's my legacy and I feel a very strong calling to it.  

2.  I don't care what anyone thinks of me and the things that I do or have done.  (Sometimes I care for a moment, then it fades away just as soon as that doubt showed up).  Only my opinion matters because I've been there since my conception and through all the ups and downs of my own journey.

3.  I am super duper confident in my daily choices and I allow myself to learn and falter as part of my journey.

4.  The most significant things about my year:

a)  meeting Paul Chek.  And for the first time since I became interested in health and fitness, I met someone who actually followed the advice he gave people, and who actually made sense and looked at the whole person, instead of just muscles and appearance.  Meeting Paul has changed my life in amazing ways.  He is not a hero or anything.  His legacy journey just happens to be one that can reach me and inspire me in ways that I need.  It's about finding an approach that works for you as an individual so you can be your best...In August, I attended a Q & A session here in TO.  For the first time in my life I heard someone answer questions I had had all my life in a way that just clicked and made sense and was true.  Like:  how come some people are born into difficult situations?  etc...  Rock on Paul.

b)  meeting my boyfriend.  For me it all happened unexpectedly at a moment when I wasn't thinking about dating because my energies were so focused on triathlon and leaving NYC.  I am blessed because I met someone pretty kool who I actually care about and doesn't bore me - in fact challenges me to grow.  My first internal response after meeting him was "wow-cool people like this actually exist?"  and" i thought i was the coolest person ever, how can someone be cooler?"!!!!!  anyway.  it was quite humbling.  Also I've been in a healthy place in my life for a while now and it's nice to be in a healthy relationship that's not about obsessive everysecondcalling, codependence and other obsessions.  I guess this relationship seems to be in line with where I am in terms of self love and wanting to share myself in healthy ways and learn from/with him.  Thanks handsome.  (hnk if you're reading this:))

c)  Going home to see my family.  After 8yrs.  I can't believe I actually made that decision to see them.  It was financially and emotionally a difficult decision to make.  I was heartsick to see them and I feel like I've seen them and now I need to focus on taking care of just me for a while.  I've given everything in being there for them for 8.5 years.  Emotionally and financially.  I've reached a place where I just need my life to be about me in North America.  Seeing them made me realize they were alive.  That's all I needed to see.  Now I must move on and focus soley on stabilizing my own life and in a few years I'll be even more of a solid rock for them and with them.

d)  Focusing on my journey.  Letting others take responsibility for their own issues.  Letting others make their own mistakes.  Unless someone is my client or seeking out my advice, allowing them to make their own health and wellness journey.  After all it's a journey, nobody has all the answers and one person's answers are different from those of the next person.

e)  Again letting go.  Focusing on me and what I need.  Always.

f)  Feeding the things that  make me happy and grow in healthy ways.  Being thankful for my blessings.

I'm disabling comments for this post.  Just coz this particular post is rather sacred to me and needs no judgement or encouragement.  It just is.  This is where I am now.  I embrace it.

See y'all on here in 2009!  I'm definitely back to blogging all the time now so check my blog!!!  Juicy posts coming along.  I don't have a journal so this space will be my journal.  Maybe you'll learn more things about me like - which South Park character I would like to meet...or the things that are running through my mind at 3am...also want to write down my dreams on here...

Namaste.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

I love 43things.com!!!!

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a
Healthy Self-Knowing De-Clutterer

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Kujichagulia Day 2 Kwanzaa

Yay!!!

Kujichagulia means self determination.  Defining and naming yourself through freedom of thought, freedom of action and self will and power.

That's  a beautiful thought.

Today I've spent a lot of time exploring with the Flash program.  It's quite exciting to learn.  I'm in the process of learning some different programs.  I'm considering starting a blog to share some of my digital journey.  Mostly for myself, I guess.  I miss blogging with purpose.  I miss journaling.  I don't even own a journal right now!  Maybe that's why I tend to talk a lot...

Friday, December 26, 2008

Today is boxing day!!!

Christmas was pretty cool.  

The best thing was spending many hours in the company of these awesome people.  They're really radical thinkers and they love each other and i twas amazing to be around.  At the end of the evening, we felt like best friends forever.  

I am blessed with knowing and meeting people that are amazing.  Every week I meet people who are so loving and beautiful.  I can only hope that I can share some light also.

I am the the process of choosing a three word resolution for 2009.  I know for sure that there are three things I want to put most of my energy into :


1. Looking after myself and making myself the priority in my life.    

2.  Practicing focus.  FollowOneCourseUntilSuccessful.

3.  Thinking positive thoughts

NYE I need to spend alone being artsy and doing the things I love.  Also some reflection time.  Yippee!  meanwhile, I must rest, rejuvenate and get ready from some six week focus programs which start tommorow:)

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Oh dear...It's Christmas morning and I'm on blogger :)

I wouldn't have it any other way!

So I've decided that in small ways each year I will honor the Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa  & the new year.

Last Sunday we celebrated Hanukkah at my church.  

On a personal note, I am seeking three Hanukkah miracles :

1.  Nine clients for January.

2.  $300 000 saved up by Fall 2010.

3.  Success in my North American immigration journey.

In honor of the solstice, I am taking time out to enjoy the weather and also go through transformations so that I emerge from the spring triumphant.  The winter transformations I am working on are

1.  getting in super awesome shape so that in the spring I can start training for my marathon.

2.  to be thinking mostly all positive thoughts by the spring.  I'm doing very well with that one...  It's amazing how much progress I continue to make on this.  It's beautiful. 

Speaking of Christmas.  Last night I went to the Christmas Eve service at my church.  It was so beautiful.  The first time in my life that I saw something good that is related to Christianity.  I love my church.  It's Unitarian Universalist meaning that we are open to all beliefs and everyone can decide from themself what spiritual living means and we find out connection through being human.  It's soooo amazing to be part of this family.

During last night's service we sang carols.  The pastor lit a candle and everyone had their own candle and we passed on the flame until everyone's candle was lit.  We sang "The twelve days of Christmas" Elmo style !!!  The pastor retold the nativity scene in a very cool way.  He stopped at three different points to focus on three aspects:

1.  Embarking on a Journey.  This woman  came up to share a super duper inspirational story about her life.  She's been a social worker for many years, she comes from a large family and is always the one who is relied on to take care of things.  She's been a single parent for many many years.  Her life has been about giving giving giving.  Until one day something happened that prompted her to do more of the things she wants to do.  So she got a tattoo, and took more ownership of just being an individual.  She talked about how in our UU community you receive more than you give so it makes you want to give even more...so true....This really moved me.  The main reason I left teaching is that each year I felt like I was giving and giving and losing without getting back in my life.  Taking care of my family and disintegrating in the process.  I felt like I did teach as a back up plan but really I hadn't figured out what I wanted yet.  But now I know what I want.  Since I left teaching, I spend all my time doing only the things I want to do.  Fuck convention or what anyone thinks of me.  I'm living my life and it's bloody beautiful:)  There is no reason to compromise or succumb to the norm.  It makes me happy as it is and it will only get better from here.  

2.  Being turned away at the Inn.  One of the congregation members shared with us how crappy the health system in North America is and how unless you go to a private hospital, you need to go through the emergency care and usually they don't let you stay overnight and admit you unless you can convince them you're doing.  As a result of this system, her monther's stroke systems went ignored until she finally had the stroke and almost died.  Effin North America and Allopathic medicine.  It makes me so angry...like peopel tell me about their 10 minute doctor visits??? what is that?  Naturopathic Doctors spend 60-90 minutes with you - really caring and helping you figure out and treat the cause of disease...these two types of doctors should work together to bring health to the people...fat chance.  In 6 years I'll be an ND.  I digress.

3.  Giving birth.   At this point, a woman came up to share with us about how she had her daughter a year ago.  It was great to hear her talk about how bitchy she was during the last days of pregnancy, but how when the baby was born, just one look into her eyes brought so much hope and beauty into her world.  Ok... and so my little wondering mind began to fantasize about making babies!! For a split second.  

The service was so beautiful.  The people at my congregation are my family.  I am so happy and blessed.  After the service, the children pounced on the gingerbread house outside the church.  One of my friends asked me where my bf was.  Then I just got annoyed and sad that she'd asked me that question.  For the first time this season, it dawned on me that maybe I was a little sad not to be seeing him on this day.  I know it's just a day and I don't care.  But after my friend asked me, I actually gave it some thought and I felt sad.  Oh well.

Then i went home and I made beautiful meal!!! I made organic cranberry sauce with agave nectar.  It tastes better than the canned stuff.  I made it from scratch and it's all healthy - you can eat miles of it without getting a sugar high!!  It's flavoured with cinnamon, allspice and ginger and has apples and pears and oranges in there...how delish.  I also baked some yummy dark mean turkey and cooked delishus brown basmati rice.  The best part - I made a brilliant vegetable peanut stew with kale, chard, mushrooms and lots of other goodies.  This stew is sooo divine.  I wish someone would share it with me.

Now I'm up.  updating my blog.  I'm going to the gym!!! It's Christmas morning and I'm going to the gym even though I haven't been in forever!  Only I would choose to do something like this.

Then I'll come home and cook delish breakfast, watch cheesy holiday movies on my laptop while the cherry pie is baking.  Then I'm off to Christmas Dinner with E & B from church at their house.  They get to sample my cranberry sauce!! yay :)  Then after that it's home time.

And tommorow is day one of kwanzaa!!! Tommorow I want to go to the gym and the movies.  I'm one of those resolution people, so I'm thinking of what I want to work on in 2009.  I will choose three main things with tangible results.  yippeee yippeeee yippeee.

I guess the holiday spirit did catch on to me after all.  I'm having fun and doing only the things I want to do.  Hip hip hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Effin Holidayz...

For the past two years I had this adorable little Christmas tree in my room in Harlem. I would keep the tree up and all my Christmas cards up for three months. Why. Because I am a big cheeseball. The tree was about 1.5 feet tall and decorated with silver gift packages and tinsel and christmas lights. I kept the tree under my lovely loft bed. My room always looked gorgeous...

I hate Christmas. Especially this year. I hate consumerism. People go around buying crap. I wouldn't mind so much if the holiday had a different name. Like Walmart Day. I have a huge issue with the history of this day. Who was Jesus? Did this person even exist?

Why is the world so dumb. Why are people so gullible that they buy stupid stuff and live at Walmart.

Am I just as dumb?

My grandad used to kill us a goat at Christmas. Now the cost of a goat is a couple thousand USD so they can't afford to kill a goat. And my pops used to make me recite baby jesus verses from the bible on Christmas Day. That used to upset me and I would think "I would rather be buried alive than recite this crap".

I'm still alive.

December 25th 1997. I ran away from home at 7am. I told my dad that I hated him and that I didn't want to celebrate Christmas Dinner with them.

I came back home a few hours later. Sniffling and sobbing. I got dressed, and then pretended to eat breakfast. The car was not working, so we took a commuter omnibus to Cranborne to have Christmas Dinner with some close family friends. Tasty food. Dumb Christian nonsense. Meanwhile my heart is effin breaking and all I could think about was calling Katie the next day to tell her everything...about how i hated my parents and how i died everytime I had to pretend I believe in christianity. If only corporal punishment didn't exist.

Some memories aren't so bad. Like playing Santa with my siblings and making them sing "we three kings of orient are...". I used to get everyone a gift. One year I saved up all these $2 bills and made everyone Christmas Crackers. I remember when my parents bought us books at Christmas. And the huge Christmas tree we had in Highlands. I even remember when I believed in Father Christmas. I was a gullible sucker.

Ok....

Fast forward to North America. Aunty Susan and company. Christmas there was always the best. I got lots of prezzies and she treated me just like I was her daughter. She always does. I miss my stocking...Christmas in Burlington, VT with Hannah's family. Magical. There is this adorable picture of us in our holiday clothes passed out on the couch...Advent calendars in upstate NY...Going to the National Cemetary in DC with SVG and company on christmas day...then last year sadza with Peshi & company in New Jersey and my brilliant photo holiday cards that I gave to everyone...my secret santa at work who gave me all these kool triathlon gifts...

Ok. This year I'm spending Christmas dinner with these peeps from my UU community. I decided that I don't like celebrating Christmas. But I get so homesick around now and I don't want to be sad.

When someone says happy holidays to me I feel like yelling. Or throwing up. Why do humans follow so blindly. I don't want any holiday wishes or presents or christmas cards. I just want a friggin normal month. And to know that my family is ok.

I do respect whatever y'all celebrate. Maybe I will make myself into a stereotype and celebrate Kwanzaa.

I love giving. I always have and always will. I prefer to give to people because it makes me so happy. I like to make someone smile. In high school I remember I knew most people's birthdays and would always make stuff like cards and get gifts. I prefer to give. Receiving is fun sometimes but I only like to receive meaningful and useful things. I don't like gifts that are cheap, or afterthoughts that take two seconds to conjure up. I prefer hugs and snail mail and thoughtful things.

I will celebrate the New Year in style. That is the one tradition that I cling to. I am cooking dinner and having peeps over on Jan 1st.

Happy new Year everyone. Will post again in January. Happy Kwanzaa everyone!

Yonge Street does look pretty...

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Why Toronto...

I am asking myself why I am here.

I don't know where I want to be.

I need safe space. Family and friends who feel like family. I am slowly finding that and it's beautiful.

I am working on being patient and caring about other people.

I need a huge hug right now.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

More on why I love TO

Yonge Street is to pretty with the holiday lights!!

I hardly see policemen/policewoman. Whenever I see one if freaks me out. Quite a contrast to NYC where it seems like there's a bunch of cops at every block...

Improv Toronto events like playing Where's Waldo in Eaton Ctr


Hmmmmm....I'm even used to the ridiculous taxes now.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Insomnia, dark chocolate and tantrums

Some of the most transformative ideas enter my head during the wee hours of the night when I should be sound asleep.

Right this moment I am high on dark chocolate. I dunno what happened, but yesterday I decided to eat a whole bar of dark chocolate- I dispersed my intake throughout the day with the most being had just before going to bed.

Well - resulting with waking up at 2am and being completely off the wall hyper. Two hours later, I am still jumpy, irritable, just want my mummy or someone to use as a friggin punching bag. No, I wouldn't use my mum as a punching bag.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Nothing like this awesome website to give me more crazy ideas.

i don't feel so well...:(

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Having a blast...

Been watching my favorite anime- Ranma 1/2

So I'm all happy and smiley- full of endorphins.

Add to that...reading articles like this: http://crazyshout.com/blog/?p=19

No disrespect y'all...

But I love David Blaine.

It's almost Thanksgiving!!! Church tommorow, then Thanksgiving Eve dinner with friends !!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Sometimes I don't shine...

For some reason in a low point. The next three days will be beautiful because I have my HL coach course coming up!!!!

Very excited:)

Saturday, September 27, 2008

My home

I consider TO my home. I'm always a New Yorker at heart, but my home is here.

I'm so blessed to have found a good place to stay and be making lovely headway with finding my peace. I definitely need to work on holding onto my peace and not letting anyone steal it. Your peace is rightfully yours.

How to undo the negative cycles and thought processes that hinder progress.

Simple. Imagination & positive energy!

What happens to a dream deferred?

Langston asked that eons ago...Four years ago I asked the same question.

Here's the answer...

A dream deferred sags like a heavy load or exlodes into wonderful reality.

My advice...don't defer your dreams. Make them reality!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Start Strong Sundays

Happy Sunday!

For the past year- I've termed my Sundays Start Strong Sundays.
Sunday is my fave day of the week because for me I get a chance to start anew and try again. I get to clean my space and air out and bring in positive energy. I'm spiritual and thrive on rituals so Start Strong Sunday gives me the opportunity to bring in some goodness into my life in various simple ways. Every Sunday for two years how I've been getting a motivational email from Spark telling me to keep going. It's quite cheesy- sometimes I respond to that email!

A day to rest my body and just breathe. Wow. Every day is a blessing, but to me Sundays are especially so.

I would like to treat this blog more like a journal - except I hardly post - my energies tend to be elsewhere.

Yesterday I had this beautiful vision of my future home and neighborhood. I'll be moving there in 2013 between now and then I need to procure $500 000 cash. Gotta work my tush off for it. As I say while I lounge around and sleep all September away!! Great.

Today is the 21st of Sept and I give thanks for 21 blessings:

  1. -communication
  2. -love
  3. -forgiveness
  4. -family
  5. -true friendship
  6. -clarity
  7. -the journey
  8. -my sexy danskin pants
  9. -art
  10. -my congregation
  11. -manga
  12. -books
  13. -letters
  14. -health
  15. -my body
  16. -music
  17. -dreams
  18. -growth
  19. -my hot soulsista tank top
  20. -my digiframe
  21. -imagination

I love Toronto in the healthiest way possible & it feels good. Not infatuation or fake love. I love Toronto because it houses me in my most healthy state and things can only go uphill from here. I love TO because of the little green nooks and crannies everywhere. I like the neighborhoods I have yet to explore and the ones whose glimpses drive me wild like West Queen West. The possibilities that knock at my window every day. The gorgeous winter that's coming up. The cheesiness that TO inspires in me. Even that, I love. Mostly I am grateful of this space that's a balance of diversity, health, community and urban life.

Happy Sunday all!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Today is September 14th and I am giving thanks for 14 things

Things I am grateful for today in TO
  1. A good HOME
  2. The beautiful green spaces along Queen St. East
  3. Enlightenment
  4. My dad & how he inspires me
  5. Streetcars
  6. Books and how they captivate me
  7. My triathlon
  8. Water
  9. My friends all over the world who support me
  10. My family
  11. Growth
  12. Today's amazing Start Strong Sunday
  13. Soul food
  14. Congregation

Monday, September 8, 2008

Answers to the poll! More updates...

The following are Canadian inventions: Basketball, Pictionary & the Telephone.

Can you believe they have a phone company here named Bell after Alexander Graham Bell? How cheesy is that? As cheesy as Chiitos I say. Gross.

Toronto, abbreviated TO has other redeeming qualities that I'm learning to discover....

Almost every other block has a payphone. I have yet to find a nonworking one. Efficiency & public service hooray!

I haven't seen any hobos or beggars on the subway. Good social assistance programs.

Downside: They tax you for EVERYTHING....When I buy something I automatically add a few extra dollars to the listed price because that's ultimately the real price...I never did quite understand why the price isn't listed inclusive of the tax.

I did mean to write a post about pizza, but I don't think I'll be doing much pizza eating. Meanwhile- gotta live through this week. Been here almost a month. Gotta just become & embrace the term Torontonian.

I hereby renounce my New Yorker ways & learn some manners & cleanliness!!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

What I like about Toronto...after two weeks

This is my 4th blog at least. I will post on here once a week or more.

My first post would have been "What I miss about New York". But to be honest that's not how I feel. Why I like Toronto so far...

  • Everyone says washroom instead of loo/restroom.
  • I haven't found the black neighborhood yet
  • People actually let you get off the subway before they get on
  • The subway still uses tokens- kinda like the good ole days of Boston tokens! I hate the CharlieCard system
  • No hobos on the subway
  • The Eaton Ctr is safer than Times Square coz you don't have to strain your neck as much to look up.
  • Not a Dunkin Donuts in sight. Phew
  • I can tolerate Harveys & Tim Hortons & Timothys. Can't say the same about Micky D's & Starbucks...
  • You don't have to swipe your pass on the bus- you kinda just flash it and they trust you!
  • I'm forced to learn my ordinals. You're kind of expected to be a human compass/organic GPS. Duh.
  • The city sleeps, and so do I
  • Toronto is very green- less trash cans & most of the city recycles - even downtown!
  • So many green spaces- parks. I feel so in sync with nature here and yet still connected to city life

Next post...the best pizza in Toronto...

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